Raven Soul
by Devonshire
Summary: Rukia's dying and Ichigo's too busy falling in love with the wrong person to notice. Ichiruki x Hichiruki. Slight Ichihime bashing. *ON HAITUS*
1. Prologue

~AN: First Bleach fan fic - so if I failed at delivering, then you know the reason why... o.o

R & R please guys! Lemme know what you think! **5+ reviews and I'll post another chapter** :] (not...pressuring you or anything *coughs/side glances*)

LOOK, we all know I can't afford to get sued and its OBVIOUS that I don't own Bleach, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this and be stalking Ichigo instead. He's hot. Case closed.

**SUMMARY**

Rukia is dying and Ichigo is too busy falling in love with the wrong person to notice. Will it be too late? [Ichirukia x Hichirukia] and epic amounts of Ichihime bashing :]

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><p><strong>{ Raven soul }<strong>

**Ichirukia x Hichirukia**

**Anti-Ichihime**

**Rated: T**

**xxx**

**xx**

**x**

**P R O L O G U E**

A vicious roar came from her side.

Sode no Shirayuki reflects the surface of the moon along the length of its blade as it dances through the midnight stars. Plum eyes follow the dance as both of their bodies gracefully became one – puncturing the chest of a vehement Hollow.

Rukia Kuchiki watches the dance end and the mask shatter into the night sky. The Hollow's body becomes rigid before concaving into nothingness.

The fight was done. Another lost soul was sent to Heaven.

Rukia leapt down to the earth, sheathing her sword as her sandaled foot tenderly kisses the ground. Kurakara's night life hums around her, the town is still fast as sleep, barely rousing from the conflict above.

The Shinigami stumbles after her gracious landing, and almost falls over before her hands catch her knees. The world spirals around and the air fuses with the dirt. Her midnight eyes are wide.

_W-what's happening?_

As soon as the dizziness came, it disappears and she regains herself cautiously. Rukia quickly assesses her body. Physically, she had no injuries and her Soul Form was perfectly fine. _So if dizziness wasn't because of the fight then what from?_

A stronger, virile reitsu faintly tastes hers, letting her know of its presence. Rukia's plum colored eyes flicker across the opening, where the moons unearthly illuminates the deserted park in a milky glow. It stirs in the shadows underneath the cherry blossoms. She sighs, benevolent, "Ichigo."

It's been two years since the events of Hueco Mundo and Ichigo's control of his final Getsuga Tenshou. He reminds her more of Ichigo _then_ as he approaches her. His auburn hair is longer and wilder, haloed in the moon. His face has lost the last bits of baby fat leaving his face with high cheekbones and a strong jawline that would make any fan girl fawn at his feet. His body was lean and hard from the years of training and Hollow harvesting. It was shown through his walk, his aura: Ichigo had worked hard for this body and was proud of it, welcoming it as a gift that the gods had given him.

That _Rukia_ had given him.

Her temples prickle in the oddest sensation and Rukia notices she's holding her breath. She lets out a sigh as the nineteen year-old Shinigami gives her a funny look, "why are you looking so _on edge_ for, Rukia?" His lips curve up slightly.

"What do you mean?" She plays dumb and inwardly frowns at her retort. "You've been keeping me waiting!"

Even under those heavy folds of the black kimono, Rukia still notices the physique. She swallows thickly.

"No, you're just impatient," Ichigo tells her. He leans in closer, his hand on his chin as if he was figuring something out in front of him. "Why the rush? Have an important date with someone?"

"N-no!" Rukia eyes are wide as her face heats up. She hopes her voice doesn't sound as strangled as she thought. "H-how dare you think - i-idiot!"

Ichigo grins, seeing how he's hit a nerve on the smaller Shinigami and teases, "Who is it? Chad?" he asks, watching as Rukia's face turns from embarrassment to horrified, another blush building up on the other. "Or Ishida? Maybe its Renji?" he muses. _Not that he _would_ be surprised…_

_WHACK! _Rukia replies with a hard punch at Ichigo's skull. "Idiot!" Her eyes are flaming. "I'm not dating anyone – a-and if I was – which I'm NOT – it would be none of your business!"

"It doesn't mean that you can throw punches at anybody!" Ichigo shouts back.

"You deserved it!" Rukia yells at equal intensity.

"Excuse me for trying to have a civilized conversation with someone," he ridicules, rolling his eyes.

"Asking if someone has to neglect Shinigami duties f-for a date is not something "conversational" rather – one shouldn't be talking about such foolish things!"

"Oh, sorry, it seems like I'm talking to Byakuya. Can you tell me when Rukia gets back?"

Rukia turns her back to him and crosses her arms over her chest, spluttering, "idiot, this whole argument is pointless. I-I'm not the one throwing indictments about relationships everywhere."

"I was hardly accusing you," Ichigo replies. "But seeing how tense you are, maybe a relationship isn't a bad…"

His voice fades as Rukia glowers at him. "Because you're the one to talk?"

It was harsh, she knew, but Ichigo didn't take it to offense. It was at that moment Rukia realizes that Ichigo has never been a relationship with anyone. It wasn't like he didn't have any friends, or that he was unattractive. Rukia knew of many Shinigami and humans alike who had their experiences Ichigo Kurosaki. But … he was alone like her. She lets her mind wonder as she stares in those amber eyes of his. Was… he waiting for someone, like she was?

Ichigo's eyes soften at her and Rukia's more than aware of the thrumming in her chest. "I'm just looking out for my best friend," he says.

_Best. Friends._

She tries to ignore the little split of rejection inside her._ You're going to keep on hurting yourself if you try and let him see you,_ a voice says in her mind. Brain over heart. Like it always was through Shinigami training; like it was when she grew up. Like it was as a Death God.

He leans an arm over her shoulders and the fact that his hard side is against her arm makes her face burn. To him, the touch was mutual; a sign of how their friendship was to him. To her, the touch makes her heart slip a beat. She inwardly groans.

_Kurosaki Ichigo. You're so unfair sometimes._

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><p>AN: Short chapter, I know, but the first ones always are, aren't they?<p> 


	2. Morning Starts

*Thanks to asian book worm for pointing out that Yuzu isn't supposed to know about Shinigami in this chapter. So I simply made her leave the room for Rukia to retaliate Karin's attack :] *

~AN: Back again! I'm shocked (and surprised) that I got more than 5 reviews for the Prologue over night - so epicness you guys *high fives*

Thanks for the reviews - same goes for here - 5+ reviews and I'll post another chapter ASAP, quicker you review - the quicker I post!

**Stephanie: **I agree with you! Writing in present tense is rather fidgity and annoying to read (I don't know why I did it in present tense... as I usually write in past...) So from here on, its going to be past tense - consider the prologue as an exception :] And I agree with you again with Rukia's state and state of mind during the story - I'll give it my best shot - thanks for the critique.

**rukiaichigo: **Thanks! Here's another chapter up :]

**funkysquirrel:** I'm glad you ignored it too otherwise I wouldn't have recieved an awesome review! Enjoy the story!

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><p><strong>1<strong>

**~*M O R N I N G S T A R T S*~**

**xxx**

**xx**

**x**

In the Kurosaki household, there was a sound of a mini stampede.

Karin burst into the kitchen, still in her pajamas which were the standard boxer shorts and loose t-shirt. Her dark locks were tangled with one bang standing to attention at the side of her head. Rukia looked up from her breakfast at the dinner table, wondering what on earth was the reason behind all the noise.

"Yuzu!" she shouted, breathing like a wild bull. "Where's my school blouse?"

She had grown taller since Rukia first met her. In fact, she had grown a head taller than the Kuchiki herself. Height was a trait in the Kurosaki family. Even Yuzu was taller too. Her blond hair was now shoulder length, but still ridiculously clipped to the side. Rukia guessed the little things never changed with Ichigo's family. It was as if they accepted it and didn't even question it unless a certain Shinigami was in the same room. Ichigo always teased her about her height, but his sisters and father were smart to not touch the subject. They valued their lives.

They accepted the fact that Rukia was now part of the family and were used to the Shinigami going in and out of their home as if it was hers too. They had even given her a spare bed in Karin's room. She was accepted as easily as that, even though she did miss the small enclosure of Ichigo's cupboard. Every once in a while, she would secretly go into his room and just sit there. She even used his window as access to move in and out freely from the house most days.

Yuzu glanced to her twin up from the stove where she finished cooking breakfast. "Good morning, Karin-chan!" She grinned happily despite Karin's mood, and patted her hands on her flower-print apron.

Karin's dark eyes swoop over the hot breakfast on the table and momentarily forgets why she barged in the kitchen in the first place. She's at the table in an instant, sitting down to the feast before her. "Pancakes!"

Rukia's fork hoverered over her own meal to watch Karin wolf down a short stack in two large bites. Yuzu's brows furrowed at her sister's large appetite, "Karin-chan, there won't be any left for ni-chan or papa!"

Karin swallowed. "Payback's a bitch for them eating my dinner when I'm at practice!" She gave the wall behind her hard bang with her fist, "You hear that old man?"

"Ichi-ni has been in the shower too long," Yuzu sighed, giving up with her sister and talking about her brother. "Now I'll never have a shower before I go to school!"

"Why didn't you have a shower last night?" Rukia asked her, finishing her food.

"I was too busy cleaning that wardrobe of yours Karin-chan," Yuzu pouted. "You have so many old clothes but you don't wear them! I even put them in bags to give them to charity after school."

She pointed at two round, black garbage bags sitting sadly by the front door. Karin spluttered, "did you throw out my shirt then?"

Yuzu shook her head, "why I gave it to Rukia-chan, of course."

Karin's gaze slid to Rukia's hidden face. She stood up on her feet and pointed accusingly at the Kuchiki. "You! I knew that shirt looked too perfect on you! Give my shirt back right now you thief!"

Rukia raised her face, sickly sweet and innocent in a way that even the air around her sparkled. "Yuzu told me that I could have it."

Karin's jaw dropped, "It's _my_ shirt! Since when do you have permission over it?"

Yuzu smiled just as politely as Rukia. _Oh god,_ Karin thought. _I'm being planned against by the two evil women._ "You haven't worn that shirt since middle school Karin-chan. And you won't be able to fit in it unlike Rukia-chan."

"I-I was going to wear it!" Karin spluttered, unable to sum up any reasonable comeback. "Since when do you decide which clothes I can keep?"

"Since you don't fit into them?" Yuzu replied, her brow rose.

Karin blinked and glared at the shining Kuchiki. "That's _my_ _uniform _blouse. _I_ don't have any other white blouses."

Yuzu smirked. "You could go topless, Karin-chan. Think of all the boys you could come back home with!"

"You're not helping!" Karin snapped, horrified that her sister would say such a thing. Rukia snickered. "I-I can't go to school without a white blouse! Kuchiki! – Hand it over."

Rukia's smile widened, but Karin knew all too well about that smile. It was the Kuchiki don't-fuck-with-me smile. "You mean…" Rukia's plum eyes glanced widely down to her chest and emphasized with a finger. "…this blouse, Karin?"

Karin's eyes flamed, "My shirt isn't even in your uniform protocol. So give back what isn't yours."

"Yuzu gave it to me though," Rukia replied coolly, fully aware of what her teasing was causing to the Kurosaki. _Come and get it. _"And I have nothing else to wear."

_I dare you._

There was a flash of red and all the eyes in the room zoomed in on the large slap of strawberry jam oozing down the not-so-white blouse.

"Karin-chan!" Yuzu exclaimed to her sister and placed her hands on her hips. "Look at what you did to Rukia-chan! Now I have to go and use the clean towels."

Yuzu exited the room and hurried to the laundry. When the youngest Kurosaki left, Karin rounded up to Rukia.

Karin smirked, vengeance winning over stupidity momentarily. One hand on her hip and the other holding the malicious jam jar, "HA HA! Try and wear that blouse _now_, Kuchiki!"

A temple pulsed somewhere on her head. Rukia's eyes flashed and thrusted two fingers at the girl, "Way of Binding 1! SAI!"

Ichigo strolled down the wooden stairs towards the kitchen, his hair still wet from the shower and already dressed in his uniform. He slipped his faded leather messenger bag over his shoulder and walked to the fridge with an irritated look.

"Oi, Yuzu. What's up with the two of them?" He prodded a thumb over his shoulder to where Karin's was squirming on the floor and shouting "cheater! You can't do that in my house!" to a very pleased-looking cross-legged, cross-armed Kuchiki perched on her back.

"I'm not really sure…" Yuzu admitted with a heavy shrug. She stared at them slightly worried with a towel folded in her arms. "I leave them for one minute..."

"ICHIGO!" Karin cried happily from the floor as if the messiah himself had walked into the building. "See this? See what she's done to me?"

The fridge door closed. "Hai."

Karin thrashed about a little more, exasperated, "then do something about it! Get her off of me!"

Ichigo opened the water bottle by snapping off the screw-cap. "Hai," he repeated again.

She stared at him and watched in a darker shade of red as her brother continued to ignore her. He lifts the bottle to his lips and takes a long, slow mouthful as if he was enjoying it.

"Any _time_ now, Ichigo," Karin growled impatiently. "When ever you _feel_ like it."

He screwed the cap back on and pointed the label at his sister, cocking an eyebrow, "New brand, Yuzu?"

"Why yes!" Yuzu chirped, pleased that her brother noticed her brand-changing. "The old brand was discontinued, so I had to purchase the other one. You're the first one to notice! Karin-chan says that bottle water and tap water are the same thing and that I shouldn't be wasting my money on something I can get for free out of the sink."

"Because its true!" A strangled voice rises from the floor. "Now stop talking about water and HELP ME, YOU ASS!"

Ichigo decided to stop teasing his sister and pushed off the counter to pass the two girls on his way to the front door. He paused, "Rukia: here."

He slipped his school shirt over his head and offered it to the woman. She blinked, uncrossing her arms hesitantly from her chest and looked up, "you want me to wear that?"

His lips curved upwards. "Unless you want to walk around with jam all over you… that's fine by me."

Rukia leaves her post from Karin ("Oh, thank GOD you did that - now could you release me?" Karin breathed) and changed into his shirt. Soap combined with Ichigo's warm aroma lingered around the cotton threads as she pulled it over her head. The fabric is still warm from his body, gently caressing her bare skin underneath. The tips of the collar were still damp. It suddenly feels very intimate to be wearing his shirt. Her first reaction was to take it off. _It's wrong, Rukia and you know it. You shouldn't even be considering wearing it. _She stared at her reflection in the mirror of Yuzu's room, her fingers slowly smoothing it out over her stomach.

She ignored the spiritual opinion.

~xxx~

They always walked with Karin and Yuzu to school in the mornings, as their schools being a few blocks away from each other's. Then they take different routes just past the bus stop. Left: the twins hurry along to their morning classes; right: Ichigo and Rukia accompany each other to English.

She was still stressing over the shirt, as it caught easily in the summer breeze and billowed up around her. Ichigo sighed, pulling his mint-colored earphones down so they hung around his neck, "Rukia, wait a minute."

"Eh?" She wasn't listening to him as she was in the process of trying to catch the ends of his shirt. A group of guys walked past them snickering, and she whipped her head to them, "what did you _say_?"

Tear dropping under the venomous Kuchiki wrath, they replied back, "n-nnothing!"

Ichigo glowered at them. "Keep walking." He bit out as one lingered to watch.

_SMACK!_ Ichigo gripped his arm and whirled around to the woman. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"

"You idiot! It's because of your stupid shirt!" she shouted, furiously collecting the traitorous fabric.

"No one forced you into taking it!" Ichigo snapped, a red handprint burning under his palm. _Kuchiki, you really need to get-_

"So you're saying that it's my fault you were born a giant?"

They squabbled until Ichigo pushed Rukia's hands aside and seized hold of the shirt. Rukia started to put up another fuss but Ichigo ignored her and started to unbuttoning the last four buttons.

"W-what are you doing?" she gasped her face red. "I-Ichigo!"

"Stop making a fuss," he told her, but there was the slightest shade of pink in his cheeks. "What do you think I'm going to do?"

"I…" her protests fade in her throat as he gripped the two tongues of the material and tugged it forcefully towards him. Rukia found herself stumble forward and cursed inwardly to her Gigai's awkwardness. The shirt tightens at the small of her back, arching her inwards. Ichigo's knuckles brush over her soft stomach, sending a shiver down her sternum. She scowled as he made a knot and tightened that too-

_Thump._

She's not sure whether she liked Ichigo looking after her like that - she wasn't a child, she could look after herself. But... at the same time found it strangely gratifying that he did care. She didn't protest, merely because she couldn't be bothered fighting with him right now. He had, indeed, helped her change and he was only fixing it because Rukia complained and he believed that he had to fix that too.

Was this another thing he felt obliged to do for her, to pay off his 'debt'?

They were both well aware that he had paid off his debt to Rukia a long time ago. And yet, he still kept her, after all the fights they went through everyday, he still managed to smile at her and give her things. She wasn't sure how to thank him, she wasn't a 'thanking' person. _Origato_ this and that was easy. But _truly_ thanking Ichigo was an incredibly hard thing to do.

"Done," he said and shoved his hands in his pants pockets, turning to walk again. "You look sociably acceptable now."

Rukia inspected his work in the reflection of the bus shelter, swaying appreciatively at the reflection to catch every angle. Instead of looking like a irritable walking sheet, the shirt looked barely recognizable. It fitted perfectly over her small frame, and the little bow was so…

…_cute._

"So how does an idiot like you manage to be secretly talented in female clothing?"

~xxx~

"Ichigo-senpai!"

"Kurosaki-kun come have lunch with me!"

"Ichigo! You're so hot!"

Ichigo walked down the hall with a haunted expression, ignoring the adoring fan of girls that had flocked around him when he set foot onto the school grounds.

"My, they seem rather energetic today," Rukia commented, knowing all too well the death stares she was getting. She nudged Ichigo's side and the girls behind them commented upset. "Oi, idiot. Are you even listening?"

"Ichigo-kun! Rukia-chan!"

Orihime jogged towards them, leaving in her wake every pair of male eyes in a five mile radius staring after her. She smiled when she reached them, looking more light and fluffy than usual. It was her… outer appearance that caused her to get so much attention. Rukia found it hard to believe that Ichigo wouldn't have noticed Orihime's … assets.

He was male after all. Just like the rest of the world, Rukia expected at least of that.

Seeing Ichigo with two females intimidated the swooning schoolgirls to retreat until the coast was clear. Rukia grinned warmly back to Orihime, "Orihime-chan! Good morning!"

She bowed and Orihime curtsied politely back. "I'm so happy that I bumped into you two before class! Ah! But you're here you see and I want to ask you if we have a test this morning!"

"Why didn't you ask anyone else, Orihime?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh!" she giddily laughed, caught off guard. "Well – um – I just wanted to ask Ichigo-kun … because seeming as he's top of the class he would know. So – heh heh – I waited until he and Rukia-chan arrived. Well – I hoped that you two arrived otherwise I would be in trouble…"

Ichigo grinned, placing a gentle hand on the rambling girl's shoulder and leant down. "Relax, our next exam isn't until next month."

She blushed at the close proximity of his face near hers. "Well … ok," she breathed, smiling back at him. "That's a relief!"

He let go of her and straightened back to his full height, adding seriously, "I thought you've been studying, Orihime?"

"I have! I have!" she grinned. "Been studying every night really, _really_ hard."

"Good," Ichigo smiled and Orihime's face dropped. "Then you'll have no problem through the mock exam this morning."

~xx~

"Rukia-chaaaaaaaaaaan," moaned Orihime, her head hid against the stack of books in the library that afternoon. "I can't do it… I just can't…"

Rukia witnessed Orihime's flustering throughout the practice exam that morning. It was obvious the girl didn't study at all as she froze with her pen hovering over the paper for the entire class. The only time Orihime's stone-like stance moved was when the teacher took one look at her from across the room and she sunk in her chair.

"Here." Rukia found another human book for Orihime to study. There were maybe two or three other students in the library concentrating of their own homework, but apart from that Rukia and Orihime were far enough from ear-shot of any of them.

Rukia perched herself up on the open window sill, the orange-gold afternoon haze behind her. The breeze brushed against her back and ruffled the gentle midnight bangs. She liked that, that freedom of the world around her. The peace of everything.

"Maybe you could get Ichigo to tutor you," Rukia suggested when the redhead was lost for words and still wallowed over her failed exam. "Like you said, he's top of the English class and I'm sure Ichigo wouldn't mind helping you."

"You…you think?" Orihime lifted her head from the table, her eyes were wide. "Ichigo-kun…would do that for me?"

"Of course! Since when would Ichigo say no to you?" Rukia smiled. "He adores you, Orihime-chan and he'll be more than happy to help your grades."

Orihime seemed to lighten up after that. "Yes, you're right. It wouldn't hurt for an extra push. I – I can do it."

"Of course," Rukia grinned. "Just make sure that he has Shinigami duties to attend to – no matter how serious tutoring is."

Orihime grinned back, her whole face shone with happiness. "Of course! I'll make sure he doesn't let it interfere with Shinigami duties!" and salutes.

They mused quietly for a while, both lost in thought on different subjects. Rukia was thinking about returning her Gigai to Urahara that afternoon. She was positive something wrong was with the vessel. She had been feeling lightheaded and airy all day long and her speech was more difficult - as if everything was almost a tongue tie when she was talking to Ichigo. _Stupid Gigais, stupid Urahara for giving me one that doesn't work properly._

"Rukia-chan…"

Rukia glanced up to see Orihime staring at the setting sun through the window. There is something in her eyes that Rukia doesn't fully understand. Between worry and shyness – she wasn't sure which.

"Rukia-chan," Orihime said more firmly to the raven haired Shinigami and looked at her with those honey-duke eyes. "What are you to Ichigo Kurosaki?"

Rukia blinked, confused. _Where did that come from all of a sudden?_ "What do you mean? Ichigo and I are just friends." _He said so himself that I was just his best friend._

"Oh," Orihime whispered, nodding. She's lost in thought for a moment or two, contemplating her next question. "Then if you are… you wouldn't mind if Ichigo and I were-"

Rukia's soul phone vibrated in her skirt pocket and she whisked it out, flipping the cover open. _Hollows_. The radar on the phone showed that there were three lurking in different vicinities to Kurakara, right near populated areas. Rukia twists herself in a position that looked like she was ready to jump out of the fourth floor window, "sorry, I have to go, Orihime. Tell me later, OK?"

And with that, the Shinigami vanished and left the human girl alone, biting her tongue.

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><p>~AN: This was slightly rushed - so I apologize if the grammar is a little wonky o.o<p>

But there you go! Another chapter! And I thank God for Wikipedia for research!

**TBC: Rukia's never been the one to crumble under Nightmares. But what happens when she finds herself falling apart from the horrors in her spiritual world? How is Ichigo going to fix that?**

**5+Reviews and I'll post the next chapter... Dun Dun DUUUNNN!**


	3. Other Side

~AN: I go away for a week and come back to see all these reviews! Thanks guys :D

Here's another one up - I may decide to change this for future reference.

Some of you might have noticed that what is written in this story doesn't match up 100% to Kubo Tite's Bleach. That's coz I'm new - and as my first fanfic (even though I want to get the facts straight 100%!) - **I'm going to reference this story as AU** - because there are going to be events later on in the story that won't follow the Bleach storyline. So if you don't like AU's - here's the chance to walk away.

Another note - this isn't going to be a "short one shot or two shot" - It's actually going to be a long story - so apologies again to anyone that have been misled otherwise...

A quick update because I didn't post it quick enough!

I'll be updating weekly (as the whole 5+ review thing worked hahaha) and if you're lucky, I'll be doubling the posts!

Enjoy guuuuuuuuyyyyysssssssss 3

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><p><strong>2<strong>

**~*O T H E R S I D E*~**

**xxx**

**xx**

**x**

When she opened her eyes, the world was racing past her.

Colors blurred - shapeless and bright as they flew past her. It was as if a child had made a painting and then smudged it with their hands. Rukia stared at them in wonder, wanting, _wishing_ to reach out and touch them. They held no real structure or sense but captivated her mind from the ridiculousness of it.

She moved her arm to reach out only to be alarmed that they were enveloped securely to her chest by a thick, itchy blanket. Her mind kicked into gear as she tried to wriggle free. _Curses!_ She grumbled, her head growing a shade darker with her effort to move. She gave up. It was damn near impossible.

Rukia suddenly felt her bundled body drop, gravity catching her weight. She cried out, a reaction that she wasn't expecting for herself to do and abruptly stopped.

"It's okay, Rukia-chan," came a voice from above. It was soft and female, but to Rukia's ears, it was as if they had shouted at her. Her mind spiraled when she felt two large, slender arms hold her and found her face smothered into an overly huge chest. Her face flustered and she squirmed.

_You – I can't breathe!_ Rukia tried to shout, only for it to come out as an upset wail. The sound was young and high – the sound of a newborn.

Realization struck her. She was dreaming. Rukia stopped resisting. _That's right, no wonder why it feels so… strange._ _It's all in my head._

"You make such a fuss about little things, Ru-chan," the woman continued. "I almost trip and you make so much noise for such a small thing."

Rukia tried to get a look at the face, but her newborn spirit-self didn't move from her arms. No one had ever called her by that name before. _It feels so real, but it's impossible for it to be a memory – so who is this woman?_

Rukia listened, but it seemed all other noise had been blocked by the dream itself. She couldn't even sense reitsu and soon gave up on assessing everything because of the limitations of her baby vessel.

_Even though I don't know her – it's nice, she's nice. I've never felt this safe with anyone apart from Nii-sama and Ichigo. _

So why …why did it feel like the pleasant dream wasn't going to last long?

Rukia nuzzled into her chest, the smells of earth and flowers filled her lungs. It reminded her of a garden back in Byakuya's manor during early spring. She sighed and closed her eyes.

Suddenly the woman gave out a loud cry and stumbled forward. The world spirelled down and Rukia felt her whole body slam hard into earth.

Protruding out of the woman's chest was a white spear-like arrow. A thin line of blood trickled down the end of the weapon. The woman shuddered, hunching forward and gripped the object. Rukia closed her eyes as her own blood blossomed against her cheek-

Real life kicked back in and Rukia felt herself being sucked back awake. She bolted up in her bed, panting. _That dream – that woman –_ but her thoughts were cut off from Karin's stirs across the room.

"Rukia-chan?" she grumbled drowsily. Her heavy lidded eyes looked hazily up to her through the darkness of the room. "What's the matter?"

"N-nothing Karin - please go back to sleep."

She waited until Karin nuzzled her head back into her pillow and pulled back the covers from her sweaty limbs. She brushed past the bed where the girl slept and opened the window, slipping outside to the roof above.

Rukia wandered across the cool tiles to perch herself in the middle of the roof. The moon was full and large in the dark sky, white-washing the town. She stared at the moon, at its many crescents and craters. Out of all of its imperfections, Rukia thought it was the most magnificent thing to be created. _How can something be so flawed, but so beautiful at the same time?_ Even at Soul Society the moon was never this close. But here on top of the Kurosaki roof she could almost touch it.

"Rukia."

"Ichigo," she acknowledged quietly. She kept her gaze on the moon as he sat down next to her. Their arms brushed and she dropped her gaze, "go back to bed, Ichigo."

"I…" he hesitated and looked over to her. "I can't sleep, Rukia."

"That makes both of us," she replied quietly and brought her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees.

He enclosed the space between them. The move would've provoked her to hit him but she found it soothing. Rukia never liked being treated like a little girl, but at that moment when Ichigo wrapped an arm around her small back, she couldn't help but to wonder, _why? How is it that it feels like you know exactly what to do?_

"Do you want to tell?" he asked quietly, as if reading her mind.

She wanted to close her eyes at that moment, to sink in deeper in his arms and rest her head against his chest. She wanted to tell him that she thought his eyes were welcoming and warm and that she wished she had those kind of eyes. _You're eyes attract everyone – they're the eyes that everybody falls for, Ichigo. That's your gift._ Rukia's eyes were dark and reproachful, the window's to the soul… she would never have eyes like his.

"Have you ever…" she cradled her legs closer. "Had a dream … where it felt so real you didn't know what to do?"

It was these times that Rukia felt so vulnerable. She was usually the one comforting and giving advice, not the one to seek another's opinion. But Ichigo and herself had confided in many things, both big and small. She had been there for a shoulder to cry on and he had been there to hold her when she was grieving.

He gave a slight nod, his arm holding her hearteningly. Rukia played with the folds of the chappy-printed shorts. "I think I dreamed about my sister."

"You think you dreamt of her?" Ichigo asked softly, his lips twitched upwards. Rukia suppressed the act to roll her eyes.

"Idiot, I'm only skeptical it because I couldn't see the face clearly," she poked back. She told him about the dream, of the running and the arrow-head that had shot through her chest. Rukia could _feel_ the aura from that blade, the dark pungent smell of a Hollow.

"Are you still afraid?" His warm voice brushed across her ear. Rukia closed her eyes in satisfaction. "It's okay to admit it."

"Ichigo…" Her head slipped smoothly to his chest. She could feel his warmth of his skin just under the thin cotton singlet and underneath it was the strong, steady beat of his heart. He kissed the top of her head, his warm breath spilling over her dark bangs.

"I'm here, Rukia. I'm not leaving you."

His fingers skimmed over her milky-white arms in soothing circles. Rukia's eyes drifted closed, "and I'll always be with you."

He laid on his back, motioning Rukia to do the same. He brought his slender arm across to her and guided her down to his chest. Cheeks speckled at their closeness, she didn't shy away from him. Rukia felt her heart hammering in her chest again as she reached down and silently rested against him.

They stayed quiet for a few moments, listening to the soft sounds of the Karakura night. Cicadas chirped in the bushes below, a police siren echoed in the distance, the wind rustled the leaves of the summer trees around their house. Rukia listened to the sounds of the human world, her mind humming.

"Two years ago," Ichigo finally managed to speak. His voice was even and controlled, but his eyes were soft and sad. "Two years ago I thought that would be the last time I would see you."

He closed his eyes, his mind going back to _that_ time. The breeze ruffled his hair as his frown softened and he glanced down at her. "I went through so much shit, all those fights, trying to get my Shinigami powers back. Everyday I would always be looking, running around corners for no reason, trying to figure out what I was waiting for at the other side. I drove everyone up the wall apparently... but I didn't care. None of that mattered because I wanted to get back what I lost."

Rukia refused to feel happy about what he tried to say. "You're powers..."

Ichigo frowned again, staring at the stars. "No. In the end it wasn't about that."

It felt like her heart was beating in her throat. Rukia's hands clenched and unclenched as a hot and cold sensation dipped down her spine. "What was it about?" She hoped her voice didn't sound as shaky as she thought it did.

"You."

Any fangirl in their right mind would have squealed with delight and rolled off the side of the roof because they fainted. But Rukia wasn't a fan girl of any sorts (except Chappy). She wasn't going to scream at the top of her lungs and declare her feelings. Rukia felt like she was suddenly at war with herself. One half wanted to confess her feelings back but another wanted to run. She never felt so torn in her life.

She withdrew from his arms and sat up. She didn't know what to do with herself. Instead of joy, she was stricken with guilt. "Ichigo... you were meant to have a life. You weren't meant to worry about me."

Ichigo scoffed. "Of course I was, Rukia. That's who I am," he breathed, sitting up also. "And that's...what you mean to me."

Her face reddened and she stood up abruptly. She turned her back to him, "what do I mean to you?" she whispered. Did he understand the weight of his words to her? Did her understand the meaning of this?

Ichigo was slightly speechless at her rebuke, "Rukia...I thought you would have figured it out by now."

_Did I figure it out, Ichigo?_ She balled her hands to her sides. "G-goodnight," she said quickly and ducked inside the open window of her room before Ichigo could say anything else.

Her breathing was labored as Rukia planted herself hard against the bedroom wall. A hand flew over her chest as another over her mouth. _These feelings I'm getting...aren't just a coincidence._

_So why did I run away?_

_Why was I afraid of what he might say to me?_

* * *

><p>~AN: Well, this wasn't how it was meant to go ^^' the nightmare was supposed to be more full on and the Ichiruki to be subtle ~ hi ho hi ho~ looks like I switched it around. Kindda like it this way though...<p>

**~TBC: More and more Hollows are mysteriously popping up all over town - will two Shinigami sort it out or will Rukia's mysterious illness take over her? **


	4. Changes

AN: **OMG guys! So sorry for the late update!** It's been a freakingly busy week - so this won't happen again - I SWEAR! But totally understand if you've recently bought a pitchfork and flaming torches for revenge of the lateness -_-

Apologies for the characters acting OOC in here - It's not purposely done, so let me know 'kay?

Wow. Is it me or did the chapter before suck? Reviews for that one was slow :| maybe I won't be doing any of those type of scenes...unless reviews are thrown in...

**Review guys! The more reviews I get, the more likely I'll be posting a chapter sooner (motivational wise, you see...) even though I haven't done a good job so far D: 5+ is the goal ;)**

Anyways, here's another chapter. If you like it review it. If its crap, review it. I need your intell guys! For the time being its not gonna be a AU so I'm trying REAL hard to get the foundations of the story right.

* * *

><p><strong>3<strong>

**~:C H A N G E S:~**

**xxx**

**xx**

**x**

Rukia never liked being vulnerable.

She had taken into account of the odd feelings she had been feeling lately but brushed them off as one less thing she needed to worry about. Rukia was, of course, a Kuchiki – so whether or not she felt like she had to hide something, she would never allow it to be discovered.

But Ichigo Kurosaki was one of those people that knew when something was up - _especially_ with Rukia. So when it came to the both of them going to class the next day, Rukia's imperceptible stone-like face got the best of the now-irritated seventeen-year old.

He took a step in front of Rukia and turned in the doorway. Rukia stopped walking for her next step would have landed her in his chest. She rose a thin, raven brow and crossed her arms.

"You've been ignoring me all morning." Ichigo stated, enough said before he sounded like he was complaining.

She waited until two students passed them to get inside before she replied. Rukia's expressionless face remained completely smooth. "What do you mean? I've been talking to you all morning."

Ichigo shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest, imitating her. "That's not what I mean and you know it."

She made sure that she wasn't showing it, but Rukia _was_ nervous. She had been nervous for the entire morning since what happened on the roof last night. She inwardly cursed. If she had acted like nothing had happened and just started aimlessly arguing with him, he might not have noticed how irritated she really felt.

"Well then, pray tell Ichigo. _What_ _do you mean_?"

He scoffed and unfolded his arms, "seriously? Are we going to play the 'I Have No Idea' game?" When Rukia didn't reply he lowered his voice, "I'm talking about last night."

Rukia's eyes widened a fraction, but not enough for Ichigo to see the flash of panic behind them. For a second, she pictured Ichigo down on one knee and confessing his love to her with those smoldering amber eyes brimming with tears. Her face flushed hot at the thought. Baka! She _really_ had to stop secretly reading Yuzu's magazines. "W-what about it?"

"You walked off last night," Ichigo's voice came back to her red ears. "And I just… I don't know – I'm worried that's all."

For some reason, she felt disappointment at the reply. Rukia swiftly side-stepped Ichigo to go to her desk and he followed. "There's nothing to worry about. Seriously Ichigo its not like I'm a sick, old woman – I _can_ handle any situation by myself and last night I was just tired, that's all."

"I don't know about the 'sick' part," he grinned, following behind her. There serious conversation now long gone. Rukia suppressed the action to roll her eyes. "But 'old' seems like a good enough reason why I should look after you."

Rukia slid her chair across sharpily and sat herself in it rather grumpily. "You to me are only an infant."

"RUKIA! MY LOVE – YOU'RE LOOKING BEAUTIFUL TODAAAAAAY~" Keigo sung as he did something that resembled a Wet Noodle Dance across to them.

"How about aged? Ancient? Timeworn? Stale? _Antediluvian_?"

Did he want to pick a fight today to make up for the ones he missed this morning? Rukia's eyebrow twitched.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously at his grinning face, which infuriated her even more. She turned her body towards him, hunched forward in an aggressive stance. "BAKA! H-HOW DARE YOU TELL ME I'M OLD!"

Even though they sat next to each other, Rukia had flash-stepped that few inches to close the gap. Unfortunately in that split millisecond, Keigo had somehow managed to be in the firing lane. There was a sudden tangle of legs and strangled noises from the floor. Rukia had somehow misjudged herself and landed right on top of a stunned looking Keigo.

Ichigo laughed so hard that he had to grab his desk to stop himself from toppling over. The morning chatter in the classroom died down to an almost complete silence. Everyone stared.

Then Rukia got to her feet and helped Keigo up from the floor, blushing and stammering an apology to the boy as the conversation in the room slowly buzzed back to life again.

"…thinking that we should go to the beach sometime…"

"…shopping would be a good idea, wouldn't it?"

"…the guys there are super cute…"

"Earth to Orihime. Calling to planet Inoue?"

But Orihime wasn't listening to her group of friends that surrounded her desk from across the room. Her honey-duke eyes stared at Ichigo and Rukia, her lips pursed in a thin line and a tight sting in her chest.

xxx

When the bell went that officially end the final lesson of the day, it was the sound of Heaven to every student.

"Class, don't forget to read Chapter 19 tonight. I want to see an extensive range of answers from question 12 to 45 tonight. We went through them this afternoon so studying shouldn't be that hard. And I will be checking them all tomorrow, so no copying each other's work…"

Student's shuffled out of the classroom, chattering mindlessly to each other about what they wanted to do after school and work.

Rukia made her way down the busy corridor to wait outside Ichigo's classroom. She never complained about going to a human school once, let alone the lessons. She had actually grown quite fond of them and had even volunteered for a few extra things here and there. But now because they were older, Ichigo's and her own classes were different and only a few lessons did they have together. It was the ones that she didn't have with him that Rukia seemed to be more distracted than most.

She waited against the wall beside Room 302 – Ichigo's _Alternative Language _class with one foot propped up against the wall and her arms crossed lightly over her chest. The door seemed to be closed, meaning the class was still inside.

A few moments later, the door opened and students from the _Alternative Language_ class began to stream out. Neither of them casted a second glance at the Kuchiki as she was always there, waiting. There had been a few occasions when one of the boys had stopped and asked her what she was doing and she would reply sweetly, "I'm here for Ichigo Kurosaki, could you perhaps notify him I'm waiting?"

She kept her eyes closed until she sensed the familiar aura as it passed. He was the last one out – as he was every single day. Rukia opened her violet orbs up to him. "Karin's waiting for us."

He looked away from her sheepishly, itching an imaginary scratch behind his head. Rukia cocked her head and he answered, "I won't be able to walk home with you guys tonight. I have tutoring with Orihime after school."

Rukia didn't think twice about his statement. There was nothing to think about it. She pushed herself lightly off the wall, "alright. I'll let Karin and the other's at home know. You'll be home before dinner, right?"

Ichigo chuckled. "Of course, mother."

"Someone has to keep you in line, baka," Rukia smiled, hitching up her schoolbag higher on her shoulder. Ichigo ruffled her hair playfully and Rukia replied with a punch to his stomach. They both grinned at each other.

"I'll see you at the house," Rukia called over her shoulder as she walked down the hall. Ichigo stared after her, before he turned around to head in the opposite direction. He held up a hand to show her he heard, "Hai, Rukia."

xxx

Rukia sat down at the bench underneath the shade of a small tree in the park. In front of her was the school soccer field and Karin Kurosaki running like a bullet train straight down the middle.

"Korusaki! Over here!" shouted out one of her teammates. Rukia had been to enough soccer practices to tell that was Luzo. His dark pointy hair bouncy as he chased after her, sweat gleaming off his forehead.

Karin skillfully kept the soccer ball in front of her and even managed to dodge one – two – _three _members from the other team as she headed towards the goals. Her team members shouted to her and with one quick glance up, she hooked her left foot right – sending a powerful kick to an open team player who received it and kicked a goal.

There were maybe one or two other parents scattered around the field. Not a lot of people showed up to the Junior League soccer practice but Rukia enjoyed watching them play. It made her feel as if she could connect with the Kurosaki daughter and felt like she too, had owed her and Yuzu her time from taking their brother away from them to Soul Society.

The coach – a man in his thirties, slim built and wearing the official school gym uniform – blew his whistle until he was blue in the face as Karin streamed ahead once again. "Pass the _ball,_ Kurosaki! Pass the BALL!"

Karin frowned, sick of hearing the chirp of the whistle and kicked the ball. It soared to a player on her team who caught it with their foot and began dribbling down the field. Karin jogged to a stop, momentarily leaning against her knees to catch a breath. They had been training for almost two whole hours and by the time the coach had blown his whistle for end game, the sun was setting behind the buildings afar.

They grouped together for one final chat. From the looks of it, the coach didn't seem too happy with Karin. They broke apart after a minute of talking, each to be sent home or somewhere else.

"Hai, Kurosaki!" Luzo called out to the girl as she walked up to the fence. "Same time tomorrow, right?"

"Alright!" Karin called, giving a wave. She jogged up to Rukia, a towel around her neck, a water bottle in one hand and her duffel bag in her other. "Eh, where's my slacker for a brother?"

Rukia didn't usually come alone to Karin's soccer games – she first started going because Ichigo always went. So Karin was surprised when Rukia answered, "he's tutoring Orihime after school now."

"You mean Orihime Inoue?" Karin asked, skeptical. She pushed open the squeaky gate and they both headed down the street out of the school grounds. Rukia glanced over to her, hearing the delicate exacerbation she tried hard to hide.

"You don't seem too fond of her…" Rukia gathered, confused. She thought Karin had met Orihime Inoue often?

Karin shrugged. She didn't want to go into the details right about now, so she changed the subject. "Why's my brother teaching her though? I thought she was top of your year level."

"She changed classes mid-year and moved into English halfway. I guess all the catch-up work was a bit overwhelming for her," Rukia mused.

"I would've thought of Orihime – as smart as I hear she is – to have caught up by now." Karin paused at the sidewalk and checked for traffic. "I still can't believe my brother did that…"

"Well, I did tell Orihime that she should ask Ichigo for some help," Rukia replied.

"…to you, of all people," she muttered.

Rukia wanted to stop walking when Karin said that last sentence, but she was in the middle of the road and there was a car coming. What Karin had said, wasn't meant for Rukia to hear. "I beg your pardon?" Rukia asked.

Karin looked over to her, blushed slightly and shrugged. "Nothing."

Rukia opened and closed her mouth. Opened it again and then closed it. It was now bugging her, whatever Karin had started to mention. She walked along side the girl, lost in her thoughts.

"It's my brother's birthday soon," Karin replied out of know where. Rukia nodded. She had known that Ichigo's birthday was coming in a few weeks time. She hadn't forgotten at all. It seemed like forever, but the day was finally coming.

"What are you planning to get him?"

Rukia looked up at the golden colored sky. It was still going to be light out for a few hours. "Not sure to be honest."

"He's in love with those spicy-chocolate buttons called _Whitsey_. One time I found a stash hidden under his bed – I swear there were like – fifty of them in there," Karin replied in a sly voice. "Just so… you know… you might have an idea or whatever."

Karin's hinting made Rukia smile. She never knew Ichigo liked anything in particular apart from fighting Hollows and Shinigami. There you go, another one to add to the list. "Thank you, Karin."

The girl smiled back. "Eh, any time. You can even use them to bribe him too. I swear he goes nuts for it as you do for Chappy."

Rukia's eyebrow twitched. So much for kind converses…

"Yuzu!" Karin called and waved to her sister who was waiting for them at the corner of the block. The twin shot up to her feet, grinning as she ran up to them both and joined them.

"Karin-chan! Rukia-chan!" Yuzu beamed. "You wouldn't believe what I got in my marks for hospitality…" her voice trailed off as she was trying to find her brother. "Where's Nii-san?"

"He's at school tutoring that Inuoe girl," Karin sniffed, rather irritated at the whole thing. "I told you he's no good for nothin'."

Yuzu's expression faulted and she pouted, "why does she need tutoring by Nii-san?"

"Beats me," Karin replied thickly. Yuzu looked away, thinking.

Rukia sweat dropped. "So Karin-chan tells me you're brother is fond of this spicy chocolate…?"

Yuzu perked right back up. "_Whitsey!_ He loves that! Are you planning on giving him, Rukia-chan?" She wriggled her eyebrows.

"Eh?" Rukia blinked, feeling her traitorous cheeks reddening. She laughed giddily. "For his birthday, Yuzu-chan! Karin told me how much he liked them and I wasn't sure what to give him."

Yuzu giggled and skipped ahead of the girls. "Sure, sure, Rukia-chan! I see how it is!" She turned on her heels and faced them, walking backwards. "How about next week we go down the street and get them together?"

Rukia wasn't sure how to react to the girls kindness. So she just smiled back and nodded, "OK, Yuzu-chan. Arigato."

xxx

Ichigo came back home a few moments ago.

They passed each other in the hallway to his room. Rukia stopped and greeted him, "how was the tutoring?"

Ichigo's face immediately reddened. He was hoping not to bump into Rukia on his way to his room, but Heaven's against him, she was there still in her uniform, leaning against the wall. He averted his gaze, his blush glowed redder in chargrin. "F-fine."

Then he lurched into his room and closed the door behind him, leaving Rukia curious and confused in the hallway.

* * *

><p>~AN: OoOoOoOoO Ichigo! Why so flustered, Ichigo? Eh? Did something with Orihime while we were 'tutoring'?<p>

Poor Rukia, she's so oblivious to this type of thing - well, it'll be a rude awakening, won't it?

**Rukia:** BAKA! *thumps my head with her fist* Why am I going to get the worst of this?

**Me:** *defends self* J-just read the story! I swear it'll get better!

**Rukia:** How's it going to get better if I'm 'sick? Wait - I'm dying? DYING? Why did you write that in the summary?

**Ichigo:** Well, it's catagorized under 'romance' - I guess it's meant to be a little dramatic.

**Rukia:Been reading too much of Yuzu's magazine's again, Ichigo?**

**Ichigo:** Eh? N-no I haven't!

**Rukia:** *chuckles madly*

**TBC: Matsumoto and Hitsugaya come into town and take Ichigo and the gang out for his birthday! What's this? Rukia has to take a drunk Ichigo home? WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN?**


	5. Inspection

~AN: I just noticed that I posted the wrong "TBC" in the last chapter. Damn giveaway for the next one. *Awkward silence*

**Thanks for the reviews! Keep the 5+ up!**

Soooo yeaaaah... here's another one - it's a filler (I'm sorry D: D:) a _long_ one at that.

But read it.

Because it's important.

That's if you're interested in the story.

If not.

Don't read.

But...review 'kay?

* * *

><p><strong>4<strong>

**~:INSPECTION:~**

**xxx**

**xx**

**x**

Several days had gone by and with every passing afternoon, more Hollows appeared around Kurakara Town. It seemed that with every hour that passed, the population of Hollows had begun to gradually grow.

Rukia and Ichigo had their hands full, even when Chad, Ishida and Orihime helped out on occasion; hardly any of them had time to rest. Excuses for leaving class to go the bathroom for the fifth time had begun to irritate the teachers.

It was only a matter of time for a Gran Menos to be sighted. It was one thing to have abnormal endeavor of Hollows in one area from time to time – parting by six years _at least_, if worst – then to have them to appear almost on a daily basis.

She looked down from the Heaven's perched firmly in the middle of the clear summer sky. Up higher, the sun was stronger, as a trail of sweat rolled down the back of her neck. Rukia's eyes swept across Kurakara underneath her, placed down like a map under her feet. Shimmers of light sparkled off the cars underneath, tiny ant-like dots moved slowly across the school fields. It was midday and Rukia was on her third 'sick bay' excuse. Her eyes flickered to the area where Chad and the others were hunting a Hollow. She was on look-out duty with Ichigo, after they themselves had just only moments ago defeated several Hollows from the skies.

Rukia felt herself being spiritually tugged to the west and narrowed her eyes to one more Hollow far away in the smaller suburbs. Without another moment to lose, the petite Shinigami shun-poed and vanished.

The tall, skinny buildings of the earth-toned apartments greeted her. Rukia's eyes swiftly gazed from left to right, her ears prickly at the smallest noises. This part of town reminded her of Rukongai back in Soul Society. Yet the streets and alleys were not disturbed by the beggers or the desperate. It was quiet and abandoned.

She walked forward a few steps with her hand resting on the hilt of her Zanpakutō before she heard the inhumane banshee to her left. Rukia's pupil's dilated as she shun-poed-

The side of the apartment building exploded outwards into the street as Hollow attacked. Rukia landed a few feet away and waited for the dust to settle, Sode no Shirayuki brought in front of her. The Hollow rushed through the dust, its banshee-like mouth open wide as it charged to her again.

Rukia parried the attack, sliding a few metres back in the process. Hot breath roared over her body as Sode no Shirayuki jarred itself deeply in its jaw.

It pulled back with a fountain of blood following as it gave another shriek in pain. It shook its head from side to side. Thick blood oozed from between its cracked bone as it struggled to regain another attack. Rukia shifted her weight on her left foot, ready to deal the last blow-

A sharp pain pierced through the middle of her chest and Rukia watched as the ground swirled up to her face. All she could do was close her eyes as she felt the deep _thud_ of her skull colliding with the hot road. Darkness hazed the corners of her eyesight.

She blinked, shocked. _What…?_

The injured Hollow narrowed its black eyes to the fallen Shinigami in suspicion. Was it a trick? It lifted its masked-head in trepidation and sniffed the air. It wasn't mistaken; there was the scent of blood in the light breeze.

She gritted her teeth and pulled herself to her knees. She swayed in her crouched position. She gripped her throbbing brow dizzily and placed pressure on the open wound. Before she could come to terms with her injury, the Hollow in front of her cackled.

"You …weak …Shinigami," it mocked, eyes narrowed in glee as its large, thick tongue licked its wet teeth. It lowered itself on its front legs, watching her like a cat that toyed with a broken bird. "You are nothing … completely weak … for me to devour…"

"Who are you to lecture me that I'm weak?" Rukia demanded. She stood up on her feet – a bit too quickly – and wobbled like a newborn calf, which only made the Hollow shriek louder.

"Look at you! Look at you!" It roared sardonically. "A little child! Delicious! Can I eat you now? I will! I will! I'll eat you right now!"

Rukia glowered, she knew better than to converse with a Hollow. "I am _NOT_ a child, you indecent beast!"

"Your anger...I see you're not alone," the Hollow leered, eager at her wrath. It bent into a predatory stance, before shrieking out in exhilaration, "But I'm afraid that I'll have to consume you both!"

It lunged forward before Rukia had time to collect her bearings, "Bak-!"

She dodged and stumbled, raising Sode no Shirayuki in her fall. The blade embeds itself deeply in the shoulder and more as the Hollow past.

She focused all her attention on standing back on her feet. Behind her, the Hollow shuddered, dispersing into a thousand shadows of nothing.

Rukia sheathed her blade and turned back to the empty street, panting. Her heart raced in her chest, her lungs restricted and tight and everything around her seemed incredibly bright. She closed her eyes. She had to calm down.

_Shirayuki._

_Rukia,_ the soft voice of her Zanpakutō replied quietly back. _You need to rest. You're tired._

"There's too many Hollows," Rukia replied. "I can't hold it back the review any longer, I need to send a report back to Soul Society for extra Shinigami on hand."

_Don't take this all on you're shoulders._

"I haven't been."

Her Zanpakutō sighed. _Then you must know what needs to be done._

Rukia nodded and returned back to the schoolyards. She landed lightly in the open window on the fourth floor of her classroom. No one noticed her, the teacher was still rambling on in the front, a book in hand and a piece of chalk in the other. Students had their heads bent down low as they wrote boredly in their books. Only Rukia's gigai noticed the shinigami's presence in the room, staring straight at Rukia.

"I'll meet you back at the Kurosaki house," she said to her. "Make sure you leave with Karin and Yuzu after school, arlight?"

Her gigai understood and gave a small secretive nod, returning her eyes to the front of the class as Rukia leapt away.

The house was quiet when Rukia arrived. Isshin was in the clinic next door, dealing with a complaining patient. Apart from that, there was no one else. She pressed her hands onto Ichigo's bedroom window – always unlocked – and slid inside.

She performed kido to her injury as she sat in the middle of his bed. It wasn't too bad of a cut, but an injury regardless. When that was healed and cleaned, tired and sore, she waited.

She didn't have to wait long, soon Ichigo's soul form was reaching in from the window, a scowl on his face, "Chad and the others have gotten rid of the Hollow by the school."

Rukia nodded in confirmation. "There was also another in the western suburbs."

Ichigo stood up on his bed, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "Hollows these days. Is it just me or is there a lot of them?"

"Probably enough to attract a Gran Menos soon," Rukia said grimly. She flipped out her Spirit phone. "I need to send a review back to Soul Society for back up."

"And that will help the situation?"

"It will help _deal_ with the situation, yes," Rukia replied. "I've been observing the Hollow activity this past week. The numbers are growing and its starting to be a bit too much of a ask from everyone to continually help out. We need just a few extra – maybe five or six from a division at most."

Ichigo shrugged and Rukia swung her legs over the side of the bed so her back was to him. "I guess that would be a help…"

There was another dull thud in her head and Rukia closed her eyes as she felt herself become dizzy. Her hands gripped the bed sheets tightly before she finally clamped her hand over her forehead. Ichigo was beside her in a second, "Rukia! What's wrong?"

"Chikusho** …" she moaned and shook her head. "It's just the heat – your summers here are very different to the ones in Soul Society."

Ichigo got up and closed the blinds over his window. Rukia grimaced at the pain. "But it's fine now."

He moved in front of her and knelt down so he was eye level. Rukia jerked her hand away from her face and narrowed her eyes at him. "It's a headache, right?" Ichigo asked. "It means you're dehydrated."

Rukia chuckled at his stupid statement. "I don't get dehydrated."

Ichigo ignored her. "I'll go get you some water, it usually helps."

"Ichigo!" she grumbled and stood up to stop him but he turned and scolded her like a child.

"Stay put, Rukia."

"I don't have my legs cut off, baka!" she replied curtly and stood up to get the water. Ichigo frowned and stepped in front of her.

"I said _stay_, dammit. You're not feeling OK."

"It's just water."

"Then I'll go get it for you."

"I can do it! It's not a challenge!"

"Fine, then I'll go do it."

"That just defeats the purpose of me wanting to get it!"

"What? But – you – you make everything challenge midget!"

"Baka!" she squabbled and pushed hard against Ichigo's chest. He had managed to suction cup himself to the doorframe, refusing to let her out of his room. They struggled for a bit and Rukia managed to slip a foot past him, the break in tension hurling them across the hall in a mess of Shinigami robes. Rukia freed herself and stumbled not-so-gracefully down the hall. Ichigo's hand flashed to her ankle and pulled her down.

"STAY RIGHT THERE!" he hollered as he power sprinted down the hall. Rukia lunged after him and their struggle to the kitchen continued down every step on the staircase. Numerous times, faces were shoved into walls and corners and bodies pushed hard out of the way. Strangled words and heated bickering. Rukia had tried to chant out the binding spell on numerous occasions but Ichigo would cover her mouth and cut her off. Eventually the two made it down stairs.

The front door swung open suddenly and Matsumoto in all her glory of savoring the human-life burst in with a duffel bag under one arm and a tired looking Captain Hitsugaya behind her. "GUESS WHO'S ARRIVED~!"

Star-faced, she blinked and looked at the scene in front of her. Rukia was straddled on Ichigo's chest on the floor, his Shinigami robes caught in her frozen hands. Ichigo was in the middle of trying to roll Rukia off. If Matsumoto didn't know better, it looked like she had walked in on them doing the deed. She slammed the front door closed and turned giddily to an oblivious Toshiro outside. "Let's go shopping instead!"

xxx

Matsumoto was the only one to notice Rukia's complete comforted state as she walked around the Kurosaki kitchen. She hummed to herself lightly, opened a cupboard door and pulled out a glass and then headed to the fridge to pour some cold green tea into it. Matsumoto stared in wonder after the Kuchiki doing chores_._ She snickered under her breath. It was like watching a dog walking on hind legs!

She wriggled her brows and nudged the man sitting next to her cheekily. "Haaaii, Ichigo! How did you manage to teach Kuchiki-san this? Some secret training perhaps?"

Ichigo, rather irritated by the fact that Rukia wasn't doing what she was told, scowled. Arms crossed and eyes closed, he didn't dare to peek at her. "Beats me," he grumbled.

Matsumoto leant over to him and whispered behind her hand, "Oh? Regardless I think a little of your charm has rubbed off on her -looks like you made a fine wife to me!"

Ichigo's face heated and his eyes blinked open in shock to the grinning Shinigami. "W-what! She's CLEARLY not!"

Matsumoto grinned even wider. _That crazy bitch_, Ichigo thought horrified and tried to back away. But it was too late. She wrapped him in a headlock and ruffled his hair. "There's no need to deny it! I'm old enough to know these things. Aren't I right, Toshiro-chan?"

"Please don't get me involved with that inadequate conversation," Hitsugaya quipped beside her. His emerald eyes sliced to his Fukutaicho. "It's _Captain_ Hitsugaya...I don't know why I even try to remind you."

Matsumoto forgot her vice-like grip on Ichigo who struggled to breathe – his face crushed in her chest. "Boys these days are so _hormonal_," she pouted, the statement made her Captain's left eye twitch. "You get so emotional over things. If everyone thinks that living women are a bother, try living with this one here. He almost kicked up a fuss to go on this mission that would make a five year old embarrassed."

"I never liked hot weather," Hitsugaya snapped quickly back. "The summer's here are too hot."

"I just think it's because he's away from Momo-chan~" she whispered to a suffocating Ichigo. The twitch in Hitsugaya's left eye turned something that resembled a bomb about to go off. "He's always so worried about her when he goes out on a mission."

Ichigo finally pulled his head out of her arm with so much force he tumbled out of his chair and out of the kitchen. Rukia arrived at the table with an iced tea for both Shinigami. She sat down, "so what's the mission?"

"Thank you, Kuchiki-chan!" Matsumoto bowed and took the cold beverage, drinking it heavily. Hitsugaya sighed and turned to Rukia.

"Soul Society thought it would be a good time to check up on the Hollow activity personally. They've been keeping track of it back in Section 42. They're not sure why there's so many all of a sudden. Have you noticed the growth yourself, Rukia?"

"I have been aware for a several days. I was going to inform Soul Society to retrieve more Shinigami. Ichigo and the rest have been dealing with the situation. Unfortunately there are just too many Hollows for us to handle."

He nodded. "Apart from the unusual activity, have you noticed anything unusual?"

"No. Nothing," Rukia replied. "Has Section 42 come across anything?"

"All that we know is that it seems that the Hollows are congregating to look for something."

Ichigo came back into the room and frowned. "Something?"

"That's what I said," Hitsugaya replied irritably. "So I'd appreciate it if you refrain from making me repeat things."

He shrugged and sat down next to Rukia. She placed her hands in her lap. "Surely you could be more specific, Captain Hitsugaya?"

"As far as I'm aware, they still haven't found out the finer detail."

"And so we're here to check the place out," Matsumoto added. "To personally look over the matter."

Rukia tried not to sound angry. "I appreciate your help – I do, but I must insist that this is _my_ section to look after. I'm not quite sure Soul Society fully understands, but all we really needed was a few Shinigami in the divisions. Respectfully, I'm not sure it was a wise thought to send a Captain and a Vice Captain to the field."

"Perhaps you're not aware of just how _many_ Hollows have been spotted by officials in just this one area," Hitsugaya reply. "Sending one or two from our squads isn't possible."

"All we need is just a couple of your men," Ichigo said. "That's all. What she's trying to get at is that we don't want you to waste your time doing a mission here rather than tending to others that are more greater."

"Greater? Have you two been both blind by the fact that an uncontrollable amount of Hollows are leaking into Kurakara Town? As much as I would like to be residing in the winter back in Soul Society at the moment, I can't. You need our help and regardless of what you _think_ or _if_ you can deal with it, you'll call."

Rukia nodded. "Then you will do the operation and return a analysis back to Soul Society when you are completed."

"Hai," Hitsugaya replied and drank out of his untouched drink.

"Which leads me to a problem," Matsumoto said. She leant over the table and swooped up Rukia's tiny hands. "We need accommodation for our stay and were wondering if it wasn't a burden if Lady Kuchiki would allow us to stay…?"

Rukia beamed at her friend. "Of course you can. We have a few more spare beds here and we still have the rest of our shopping trip to continue from last time!"

The girls basked in their glory and the guys stared, speechless. Ichigo rose a finger, his voice unheard, "but this is my house…."

xxx

Rukia waited for Ichigo the next day when the school bell rang. It wasn't until the teacher had finally come out of the classroom to lock up, did they turn to her, "Miss Kuchiki, I'm sorry, but I believe Ichigo had to leave early today. He had tutoring to do in the library this afternoon."

Rukia nodded. She wasn't surprised – she hadn't met Ichigo after his class for over a week now because of his tutoring with Orihime. She still found herself waiting by his classroom, leaning against the wall. It was an odd feeling to walk out of the school without him.

She was starting to miss his company.

There was no soccer practice at the park again so Rukia headed down to the see Urahara. She walked down several blocks until she saw the farmiliar little candy store. As if he had sensed her reitsu, the door slid open before she could knock.

He appeared before her in the familiar green and white striped hat and clogs with the familiar warm smile. Rukia had always been wary of Urahara sometimes, but had always regarded him like a father figure.

"Kuchiki-san," Urahara smiled, surprised and flattered. "It's been a long time."

"It has," she nodded. He allowed her inside.

"Is there something that I can do for you?" He asked as he closed the door and paused, thinking that it might have to do with one of his products. "Is there any problems with the Mod Soul you purchased?"

Rukia shook her head and Urahara beckoned her to follow him into the tea room. She was expecting to see Tessai, Ururu or Jinta here but there was no one there but them.

"Tea?" he asked politely.

Rukia shook her head. "I'm not here for a chat, Urahara. I need you to help me with…something," she managed to finally admit.

He cocked a brow, his eyes hidden by the shadow of his bucket hat. "What can I be of service to Lady Kuchiki?"

She felt herself blush – a reaction that she hated to confess she was doing. "I-I need you to inspect my Gigai."

Urahara flipped out his fan over his face. "A pat down or a strip search?"

Rukia whacked him over the head, her face red. "Baka! It's embarrassing as it is to ask you to check it! I don't need you be specific!"

"Would you care to elaborate, Lady Kuchiki?"

She curled her hands into fists. "I know that you are the one to come to if there are any problems resolving around … my Gigai. I haven't got a lot of time on my hands at the moment to check for myself due to the Hollow Infestation. I need a Gigai that I can rely on and that's in perfect working order."

Urahara bowed his head, returning back to the businessman yet the glimmer of fun still in his eyes. "Where would you like me to check?"

Rukia frowned. "You better not do anything, you'll regret later," she narrowed her eyes.

"Why I'm offended, Lady Kuchiki," Urahara replied innocently.

Rukia crossed her arms.

"Strictly professional," he reassured her.

She sighed and sat down to tell him what she had been feeling the past few days. The weak knees sometimes when she stopped walking. The hot and cold flushes she would get at the same time. How her hands became clammy and her speech stammered. When she finally finished her diagnosis, she pointed to her heart.

"…and _this_ has been driving me insane," she said and dropped her gaze to the table in front of her as her cheeks warmed. "It's fine sometimes but most of the time it beat erratically. Sometimes I swear it even stops. Please, Urahara, I need you to fix this."

When she didn't hear his reply, her plum eyes locked onto his face. He was stroking his chin, in a very thoughtful mood. His eyes criticized her body for a moment, but she could see the up-turned curves in his mouth. He flipped his fan out and fanned himself.

"What you explained to me does seem like a problem," he admitted finally, sighing. "And its something that I don't think I can ever fix, Rukia-san."

Her heart pounded in her chest. "What do you mean you can't fix it?" she asked. Her Shinigami duites! Protecting her friends! And Urahara has the guts to say that he can't do _anything_? It would jeopardize everyone's safety! Her hands curled into fists on the table.

"Well, its simple," Urahara replied. "What you're experiencing is completely normal though yet I'm afraid expands from my knowledge completely. However, I can tell you what it is. It's your choice to accept it or move on."

He flipped his fan closed and smirked at her.

"You're in love, Rukia."

* * *

><p>~AN: You read it! YAY :D

**Rukia**: Well of course they would. They ARE loyal readers.

**Hichigo:** *snickers* loyal? It's obvious the only reason they're reading is so they can see me.

**Ichigo: **Wait-what? How the hell did you get out? GET BACK IN ME!

**Me:** HICHIGOOO 3 *attack hug*

**Rukia:** Baka, that sounded so dirty...

**Hichigo: **GETSUGA TENSH-

*Author smothers Hichgo /insert censored bar/*

REFERENCES:

** "Dammit!"

**TBC: So Rukia finally admits that she's in love with Ichigo~ but wait, what's this? Orihime? A surprise party and an unsuspected new guest?**


	6. Celebrations

~AN: I think I failed at this chapter. I don't know, I didn't really like it - it didn't go the way I wanted it to TT_TT but I couldn't really take anything out... so yeah - apologies for the longness of it all...

Rukia finally admits to herself that she's in love - so she's pretty stoked at it ;) she has finally let go and is now enjoying life!

Sorry for grammar/spelling/tense/OOC/AU siiigggghhh. But **I am looking for a Beta reader**. So if you're pretty English saavy - PM me ;D because personally, I'm too slack to check stuff...

Anywho, enjoy the update :]

**5+ Reviews and I'll continue**

**Updating Thurs-Sat each week. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>5<strong>

**~:CELEBRATIONS:~**

**xxx**

**xx**

**x**

Love!

It had been such a long time that she had felt this feeling – to feel it run freely through the flesh and blood of her being. It was like a thousand stars had exploded in a magnificent cacophony of harmony within her – burning her soul in a passionate inferno.

She was in love!

Every time she thought about it – she grinned even wider. What a carefree feeling this was! It made her want to run instead of walk, leap instead of skip and scream it out at the top of her lungs over and over until she was blue in the face. She wanted to smother herself in this feeling, to hold onto it forever and take it all for herself.

She was _in_ love with Ichigo Kurosaki!

She had made Urahara check her Gigai just to be sure, only for it to be returned by the sly man to tell her it was in perfect condition.

"One hundred percent in perfect working order," Urahara had assured to Rukia as she reverted inside her Gigai. He flicked his fan open over his face to hide his pleased look. "Just like I told you."

She hummed brightly next to Ichigo as they walked to class the next morning together. She snuck a few secret glances to the man who seemed to be scowling at that little device – what was it called? Ah yes, an iPod – and couldn't help to just stare in admiration. Knowing the

_…Congratulations, Rukia. It finally took you long enough to figure it out, _Shiroyuki murmured warmly.

_You knew?_ Rukia frowned.

_Of course I knew. I'm your Zanpakutō, remember?_

Had Rukia really been that oblivious to this? She hitched the school bag up her shoulder.

_I'm… planning on telling him tonight_, Rukia replied, her heart racing at the thought.

_You will do well_, Shiroyuki replied. _I know you will._

"You seem happy this morning," Ichigo commented as they walked to their first class.

"W-what do you mean?" Rukia stammered, her heart pounding. His arm accidentally brushed against hers and her cheeks fired up like fireworks.

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Nothing…I guess."

Rukia bit her lip as they continued to walk. _Hell_, she thought to herself. _You'd think I can stand fearlessly to a Arrancar and yet I struggle to make conversation with Ichigo._

_It's because it's been a long time, _Shiroyuki replied. _So you are allowed to be a little nervous._

Nervous! She could laugh in the face of nervous. "So…will you be tutoring this afternoon?" Rukia said and sneaked a glance at his reaction.

He remained composed and looked down to his iPod to change a song. "Yeah."

Rukia frowned. "Oh." _He doesn't seem interested in changing his plans._

_Maybe he needs a little push. Men like him are a little thick when it comes to this type of thing._

_What do you think I should do? _Rukia thought.

_Hug him,_ Shiroyuki told her.

"What's the matter?" Ichigo scowled. "Rukia? You're zoning out again-"

Rukia turned on her heels and wrapped her arms around him. He stopped walking, stunned as she embraced him. Her tiny body had fit perfectly with his. Heat found its way to his face, adrenaline pushed through his veins. Passerbyer's stared as they walked past, even a few dared to smirk. Ichigo didn't know what to do with his hands so he awkwardly hugged her back.

"Rukia," Ichigo sighed into her dark hair. "What are you doing?"

"I'm hugging you," Rukia mumbled in his chest, her hands balled into fists in his shirt. She would deny it – she was blushing into the shade of Renji's hair.

"I can see that," Ichigo replied with a roll of his eyes and added smoothly, "But _why_ are you hugging me?"

Rukia lifted her head from his shirt and Ichigo inwardly groaned. _Don't move,_ he thought. Her wide doe-like plum eyes stared up at him under her lashes, her moist lips slightly parted. Perfect raven brows creased together in confusion. "You… don't want to be hugged?"

_I don't mind_ Ichigo was about to say. But before he could open his mouth, Rukia had already dropped her arms and stood back. The burning imprint of her body around his lingered and his first reaction was to hug her back. _Was she offended? Upset?_ _What brought this on?_ Ichigo was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't feel Shirosaki stir ambiguously within.

Then she turned and began to walk with a carefree look on her face. _Unfair._ How could she act so calm after something like that? Ichigo's fingers twitched, somewhat to reach for that little waist. "Rukia, wait-"

He caught up to her easily. "Rukia-" He grabbed her shoulder.

Her violet orbs looked warmly up to him and sent a feeling like static down the back of his spine. "Yes, Ichigo?"

His heart hammered in his chest and he lost his ability to speak, gapping at her like a fish out of water. _Dammit, why the hell can't I say anything to her?_ He dropped his hand and shook his head, scowling. "… c'mon we'll be late for class."

"Hai."

xxx

Rukia floated throughout the rest of the classes. Her mind elsewhere as she leant on the table with an elbow to prop up her head. The teachers just gave up asking her questions because every time Rukia would reply, "wouldn't there be a better way?"

"…Rukia. Pay attention," her maths teacher warned.

"Miss Kuchiki, this is History. Of course there might be another way to do things, but its in the past. Would you care to elaborate on your answer?"

"Miss Kuchiki. Did you just hear what I said to the class?"

Even a few of the students noticed the mood Rukia was in. A few commented politely, out of mere curiosity. Some of the girls narrowed there eyes, coming to the conclusion by themselves. Even Keigo and his friends noticed and asked a few questions. And Rukia would always smile smugly at them, never giving anything away.

She found herself in the toilets at one stage – completely out of the blue. It was during Chemistry – one of the few classes she shared with neither Ichigo nor Orihime. Even her lab partner – Ishida was absent so she sat alone at the empty desk at the front by the window. Before she knew it, her Spirit phone vibrated and Rukia excused herself to the bathroom just as the teacher began the class.

Rukia leaned over the small ceramic basin in the girl's bathroom. She had fainted again, during another Hollow attack in the school grounds. She had gotten there before any of the others. It wasn't as dramatic as the last; instead she had become suddenly dizzy. Her heart fell.

She raised a small hand to her sore throat. How long had she been coughing for? Raw and exhausted, Rukia stared at her drained expression. It had started like an itch in the back of her lungs and before she knew it, she had curled over the basin, coughing like an old man with years upon years of lung cancer.

She had asked Shiroyuki, but even her Zanpakutō didn't know what was wrong.

The end stall opened and Rukia's Gigai stepped out, her eyes worried. Rukia forgot that she had left her here to wait for her to come back. "Kuchiki-sama," it asked nervously. "Are you alright?"

Rukia's pained expression shifted dramatically. She pulled on a brave smile and replied confidently, "I'm fine."

"You didn't sound-"

She pushed herself away from the basin. "Idiot," Rukia teased. "You don't need to worry about me. Just had something in my throat and now I'm feeling much better."

The Gigai bowed somewhat and added softly, "My apologies, Kuchiki-sama."

Rukia attached herself in her Gigai and popped the Soul Candy back into the Chappy dispenser. She sighed, allowing her soul to mold itself back into the heavy, restrictive flesh and bone before she headed out to the daylight.

It wasn't the issue that Rukia was offended by her Gigai's unease, yet more so despondent at its trepidation. It was a quiet, meek soul to always look after her body while Rukia was away in her Shinigami form. She didn't want it to worry too much about it's master. Rukia's problem was one for her to solve on her own and to not bring anyone else into it – Shinigami or soul candy alike.

Though, this problem – the dizziness, the coughing, the nightmares of the same recurring image couldn't all be a coincidence with the Gigai itself – it had all happened when she was separated in her soul form. Rukia felt her heart grow heavy. It was her.

This…_illness_... was for Rukia to fight on her own. It wasn't something external – to be easily seen by others, but was inside her soul, wedged deep within her so far that she didn't know where to begin. Her thoughts went to Soul Society, to Unohana. Surely the Captain there might know what the course of action is.

Regardless, human doctors knew nothing about soul illness and for the meantime it wasn't so bad. Rukia just needed a little checkup from the Captain. It wasn't the first time that a Shinigami had gotten ill – mind you _very_ rarely – but it did happen and from what Rukia had been through, it didn't seem surprising.

It'll be something little and in the end, she'll be okay.

The bell rang and Rukia left the school to meet Karin and Yuzu waiting patiently for the Kuchiki beside the gates. Instantly, the somber thoughts she had before suddenly vanished as she grinned back the infectious Kurosaki smile. Students leaked out of the grounds into the summer afternoon around them as they parted from the crowd and took the tram into town.

It was a warm afternoon and only a few hollows roamed around. Rukia's spirit phone vibrated and she pulled it out to check, only to see the two black dots on the screen beep once and suddenly vanish. _Matsumoto and Hitsugaya must have gotten to them._ She breathed out. She wouldn't deny it, she was thankful that they were here.

Yuzu and Karin took her to a small chocolate store near the central markets. The place was packed with students and kids. The shelves were almost bursting on the shelves with neatly printed packets of famous chocolates. Yuzu headed down the back to wear all the baking goods were while Rukia bought herself some interested flavours. _Chocolate honey_. She bought that one too.

With paper bags full and a 'arigatou' from the old lady behind the counter, Rukia finally understood why this must be Ichigo's most favorite human place in the world. It was like a chocolate paradise! There were several different things that Rukia still wanted to buy. She had to come back here one day with him…

"We're home!" Yuzu called out as she opened the door.

Isshin's head poked past the kitchen opening and looked down the hall to the three girls as they slipped off their shoes. His eyes fell from his daughters to the paper bags they carried. He bounded down the hall towards them, crying, "My lovely daughters! What did you buy for your father today?"

He and Yuzu bent over her findings in the hall and pulled out the merchandise one by one, both fervent at the findings. Rukia chuckled. If Isshin had any second thoughts on lending his credit card to his daughters Yuzu always made it up to him with her cooking.

"Rukia! My third daughter!" Isshin cried, pouncing up to the Kuchiki. "What did you get your future father?"

Rukia gazed into her bag and showed him what was inside. There were a few packets for her, but there was one box that caught Isshin's attention.

"What is this I see?" Isshin raised a thick brow, a finger rubbing his chin. He picked up the offending box – gift wrapped with a little gold tag on the side, labeled with "Whitley" in calligraphy text. "Is…is this what I think it is?"

Yuzu and Karin sweat dropped but Rukia just beamed. "It is!"

Rivers of tears rolled down Isshin's face. "Such a beautiful gift wrapped box!"

"They did do a good job of it," Rukia agreed.

"And it's for my idiotic son is it?" Isshin probed.

She blushed and welcomed the feeling. "It…is. For his birthday, Isshin-san."

"Which is tonight!" Yuzu replied and headed to the kitchen to begin baking.

"You shouldn't waste such money on that boy," Isshin said to Rukia. "The gift is too beautiful for him! He shouldn't deserve it!"

Rukia laughed politely. "Well, it's his birthday, Kurosaki-san. How can I celebrate it if I don't give him a gift?"

"Rukia! You're too polite to my son!" he replied and clasped his hands together. "I know something that you can give to me on MY birthday!"

"And what is it, Isshin-san?"

"A granddaughter and a grandson-" Isshin laughed before Karin's fist connected with his face.

He fell to the floor like a statue and only when he did pounce back up did he point a finger at his irritated daughter. "Karin-chan! My baby! Why? WHY?"

Karin's brow twitched. "Someone has to keep you in line."

Isshin cried and appeared across the room to wear a large poster of his past wife hung on the wall. "Misaki! You're daughters are so cruel to me," he bowed. "How can you help me? I don't know what to do~!"

"Shut up, fool!" Karin shouted at him, her face flushed with embarrassment. If Toshiro-kun was here at that moment, she would have wanted to lock herself in her room and deny any means of her relations to her father. "And put that stupid oversized photo away from here! You're dishonoring mom."

Isshin carried on and Karin stormed into the kitchen muttering 'embarrassment to the family' and 'should be locked away' in her quake. Rukia went upstairs to change for tonight.

She showered and blow dryed her hair. She had never been so nervous in her life. She checked and rechecked her appearance in the bathroom mirror and glared irritably at the stubborn bang in the middle of her face. She sighed, walked out of the room with a towel around her body and opened the hallway door.

Outside the sky was inked with stars, the afternoon descended quickly into the horizon. She pulled on a dark chiffon skirt and a sweet purple top with a black belt and little boots. Rukia pulled and tugged at her clothes until she was satisfied. She lifted her hair and dropped it back onto her shoulders, undecided. "Baka…" she giggled timidly. "I don't know why I'm so nervous…"

She reminded herself of Orihime Inoue for a second. Nervous, shy, worried. Everything that Rukia had grown up _not_ to be and here she was, wondering how on earth she was going to survive the night.

Downstairs, the front door opened and Rukia felt the familiar tug of Ichigo's warm reitsu against her own. Her eyes fell immediately to his present hugging her pillow. She walked over and picked it up, hearing the muffled voices underneath her floor.

_Are you ready?_ Shiroyuki asked her. Rukia glanced determinedly in her mirror. Her violet eyes burned with willpower. _Then I shall leave you for tonight. Good luck, Rukia._

Rukia walked down the hall, Ichigo's present in her small hands and stood at the top of the stairs.

Matsumoto and Toshiro were downstairs, already dressed in their human clothes. They were standing in the hallway, laughing at Ichigo and his father having an argument. Karin was in the kitchen sitting at the table a horrified look on her downcast face and Yuzu was there, talking to someone in the kitchen.

"Ah, Rukia!" Matsumoto grinned from ear to ear as the Kuchiki descended down the stairs. She had to do a double take at the princess, her blue eyes widened. "Oh! Aren't you looking fine!"

Toshiro crossed his arms over his dark shirt, the silver chain around his neck glinted. "Matsumoto," he warned.

She pouted. He had allowed Matsumoto to give Ichigo a present – but had only realized moments ago that her present was to take them all out to a bar. Now Toshiro had relinquished his wrath and tightened the chain around her neck if she had the _slightest_ idea to drink too much. He was all too ready to suck the fun out of her life at that moment.

Rukia's eyes swooped across the hallway to Ichigo's back. He had finally managed to pry himself out of his father's arms. Rukia couldn't help but to smile, her violet eyes skimming over the curve of his neck to his shoulder. She pulled her eyes away as she heard Matsumoto snicker beside her.

Rukia lifted the box up and took a step forward. "Ichi-"

Orihime came into the room. She looked healthy and radiant with the day, and Rukia suddenly thought her friend looked _too _healthy and _too_ radiant, but before she could utter a word, Orihime exclaimed, her voice thick with pleasure, "Kurosaki-kun, I'm ready to go now." Orihime didn't even notice Rukia, who perplexed, stared between the two. It wasn't until Orihime reached out for Ichigo's hand and his reaction to grasp hers warmly did Rukia feel herself pale from the inside out. _Oh spirits,_ Rukia wanted to say. _How did this happen?_

Rukia looked around the room to see if anyone else had noticed. Karin was eating an apple. Yuzu was talking to Isshin. Matsumoto was too busy sneaking a drink of sake from the cupboard and Toshiro leaned against the wall, his arms crossed and eyes closed.

There was no where for her to go. Not in the loungeroom, not in the kitchen, not in a bedroom. What Rukia wanted was a little room of her own where she could go and jot down small things in her dairy.

Rukia had no little room for herself and as a result she had no diary. Dairies, as she understood them from books, were supposed to be full of personal writings and filled with private words. In Rukia's world, there were no private words. All private thoughts you kept in your head and showed to no one else.

Ichigo.

Instead, Rukia quickly slipped the box inside the pot plant beside her. It was then, when her reitsu unconsciously spiked did Ichigo turn. His amber eyes reflected the gold haze from the hallway lights, his face calm and serene and _happy._

"Rukia-chan!" Orihime whirled over to the Kuchiki and Ichigo's reitsu smoked off her body towards her. Rukia flinched. She never noticed _that_ before. "Are you ready to go?"

"Of course, Orihime-chan," Rukia smiled_._

xxx

The bar was in a popular night strip in town. There was a small line up outside, but Matsumoto's early booking allowed the group to slip in. Ishida and Chad and the others were waiting inside at their reserved table. Ishida looked like he had more important things to do. Chad seemed to glance around occasionally with a vague expression on his face and Keigo and the others were waiting impatiently at the end of the table.

Ichigo refused to sit at the top of the table, so he sat in the middle. Orihime perched herself next to her and Rukia sat on the other side beside Toshiro and Matsumoto.

She laughed at all the jokes and talked in all the conversations. The atmosphere was happy and loud and even Ishida and Chad managed to break into smiles every so often. They had dinner, which came out in large plates as they all dug in and plated up. Ichigo plated up for Orihime and himself before he was hassled into another smug comment from Toushiro.

Matsumoto had gotten drunk first and began pressuring the males to do the same. Orihime politely refused while under the circumstances, Rukia allowed herself a couple. Matsumoto continually poured Ichigo's cup to the brim full of the store's sake, until the man began to feel dizzy.

As the night began to awaken, a few left to head down the street to the clubs. Chad and Ishida left soon after and only the five of them remained.

Ichigo placed his glass rather hard on the table. His vision blurred and voice slurred he frowned when he saw that he had five hands instead of two on the table in front of him. He looked up smugly, "drink to hard for you, Whitey?"

Toshiro swayed from the alcohol and glared at the boy, "whad you _say_ you infant?"

"Nufin'," Ichigo's hand swayed as he gripped the neck of the sake bottle. "Jus sayin' you're a pussy that's all."

Toshiro's glass cracked as he glared unfocused to Ichigo. "You _son_ of a bitch-"

"Hey! Don't talk about my mother like thad!"

Toshiro separated in his soul form and stumbled backwards into the table behind him. Luckily enough they were the only remaining customers left in the store. Orihime gasped and went to Ichigo who was failing to separate his own soul from his body. Toshiro struggled up, oblivious to the destruction he was causing and swung out his zanpukuto. "Don't insult-" he staggered to the left and Ichigo fell to the floor in a fit of laughter. Toshiro's face turned bright red. "-h-how dare y-you-"

"Da only subst'ute for good manners is fast reflexes," Ichigo taunted.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime said to him, worried. But he didn't listen to her and lunged giddily over the table. His foot snagged the edge and he crashed down, breaking the piece of furniture in half. He grumbled something intelligent and pushed Toshiro's sagged body out of his way. "Kurasaki-kun!"

He pushed Toshiro's body out of the way and lunged forward. _Where's Kon when you need him_. He ducked down and the blade _shlinged_ over his head and he pushed forward, the adrenaline pulsing in his veins-

He swung his fist but Toshiro grabbed the punch in mid air, twisted to an awkward angel where Ichigo had lost his balance. His other hand thrust out to Toshiro's shin _hard-_

Toshiro winced and glared down at him but Ichigo was already back up on his feet, ready to throw another punch-

Rukia was suddenly there in front of him. "Ichigo. Stop."

Ichigo winced and slipped over in his efforts to stop. "W-what the hell!"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that. Enough is enough."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes. He still wanted to fight – but he knew deep down inside that it was the drink talking. He blinked and slowly took in the surroundings. There was broken furniture scattered all over the room. By the kitchen door's there were a few staff members staring warily back. They shrunk back when he looked at them and Ichigo felt his stomach drop.

One of them was on the phone.

Then his eyes looked down to Toshiro's lifeless body on the floor and the passed out Captain in his Captain haori on one of the upturned tables. Orihime was shaking in the corner, her eyes wide as their eyes met. _Shit._ "Orihime-"

Matsumoto woke up from her unconscious state and blinked. "Oh, what happened?"

"Kurosaki-kun," Orihime got up slowly and dusted herself off. "Are you OK?"

"Oh…kay?" Ichigo frowned. Now that he had finally stopped, his head was spinning uncontrollably. He clutched his head and stumbled forward, causing Orihime to shout out his name in worry. "I-I think I drank too much."

He looked down at Rukia only to see six of her. "R-rukia, I need to go."

She nodded wordlessly and pulled his arm over her shoulders. He leant against her, hunched and exhausted with one hand on his head. "Matsumoto?" Rukia called out. "Take Orihime home, will you?"

Matsumoto pounced to her feet and Orihime wavered. "Uh, Matsomoto, you're a little drunk too. No offense but I…"

Matsumoto shook her head. "Oh Inoue-san! You're so silly. Don't worry, I'll take you home!"

Before Orihime had a chance to say anything, Matsumoto scooped her and Toshiro's lifeless body in her arms and ran out the door. Rukia bit her lip. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to send them off together…

Rukia grabbed her purse and heaved Ichigo and herself outside. She huffed out a breath. He sure was heavy. Rukia readjusted her grip on his arm. Every time that he staggered, her body was dragged along as well until she physically had to push back. "Baka…" she complained as she straightened them out again. "You'd really think that you would know when to stop drinking."

"Urgh," he groaned. "My head can't stop spinning."

He strayed off and Rukia pulled him back towards her. She glanced up, violet eyes searching the quiet street. She could shun-po them back to the house after all, she had hardly anything to drink. "Ichigo," she replied softly.

There was silence. Just the walking of their feet. "Uhn…"

"I'm going to have to let you go for a second," she replied smoothly. "I need to change into my soul form. Can… can you stand?"

He shook his head, his hair prickling her cheek. Rukia sighed. "Baka, you're just going to have to suck it up."

He huffed and Rukia brought them to a brick wall of some sort of building. He gripped the bricks and pressed his back hard against it. He stared up to the dark sky, his arms by his sides. He couldn't swallow without the threat of throwing up. His amber eyes gazed down to the woman, hazy amber pulsing through in the dark. "Rukia…" he panted.

She was looking in her purse. _Goddammit_, where was the Chappy Disepener?

"Rukia…"

"I'll be a second, Ichigo."

He groaned and closed his eyes. Rukia began to pull out items from her purse. She began to panic. Where did she leave it? Was it back at the resturaunt? What happens if somebody found it and tried it? "Shit," she whispered.

"Rukia."

"Ichigo, now's not the time-"

She unexpectedly sensed the cool, rigid surface of the brick wall bite into her soft back. Her purse scattered to the stones, spilled contents rolled across the uneven surface. The hard, warm body of Ichigo pressed forcefully against her and she felt everything of his against everything of hers. Rukia gasped, but didn't say a word as his mouth brushed from her ear and down along her jaw. Her stomach coiled and constricted at the sensation of his lips against her. She immediately wanted to react back, to fall into the temptation of his, but…

He paused at the corner of her mouth, teased her and pulled back. Rukia shivered and looked back. She had to see those eyes of his, those amber eyes. "Ichigo…"

The black and gold eyes stared contemptuously back and a long, blue tongue provocatively slid over his lips before changing into a wicked grin, "Hello _Rukia."_

* * *

><p>~AN: Blah. Didn't bother proof reading - its super late :| sorry if I mistake the crap out of it :D<p>

BUT HICHIGO IS FINALLY IN IT! RUKIA REALISES THAT ORIHIME AND ICHIGO ARE TOGETHER! So much drama! So much suspense! WTF AM I GOING TO DOOOOOO~~~~~ *flails around*

Hichigo managed to come out coz Ichigo was BLIND from drunkness SO FINALLY SOME HICHIRUKI BOOM TISH

(Though AuthorHichi is still a long lost dream...)

**Hichigo:** *facepalm*

**TBC: Shirosaki finally decides to give Rukia a visit. Intentions seem one-sided as Rukia discovers something that she wasn't allowed to know...**


	7. Opposites

~AN: Sorry for the repost guys ~

Recently found out that my best friend passed away in a car accident last week - so that's why I wasn't able update. It's been a pretty tense couple of days, so I hope that getting back on my feet will make me feel better. Need to get back into the rhythm of things again I suppose...

I changed my writing style for this chapter...slightly. I decided that instead of having just Rukia's views on the situation at hand, which I might add in Shirosaki's as well. Excuse for the slight lemon/lime/banana/berry content~ There is a possibility that I may have to change the story from T to M in the future chapters...

So here you guys go! Another one is up! **5 reviews and I'll keep posting chapters weekly :3**

Thanks for all the reviews, comments and everything else so far~ really, truly guys thank you - otherwise I wouldn't have bothered with ending this story to begin with :D

Let me know what you think of the dialogue. Should I keep it? Shouldn't I?

Enjoy!

Song for this chapter: **Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye** GYAHHH I LOVE THIS SONG / It's so sexy~~ Such a Shirosaki/Rukia song RARARARA I have to listen to it while I type ~~ it's so damn...guh.

AND RUKIA'S BACK IN THE MANGA WOOOOOP! **I **_**WILL**_** make it my personal mission to kick Tite Kubo's ass if he doesn't get Ichigo and Rukia together - THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE KUBO! *Shakes fist* **On a serious note though...I do kinda think that Ichigo and Orihime are going to get together which makes me sad/angry/pissed/depressed and if they do, then I'll have to...well, buy a lot of ice cream and read Strawberry 16 mangas -_-

FEAR NOT ICHIRUKI FANS I SHALL PREVAIL WITH THEIR LOVE IN THIS STORY!

**Thank you to Chappy12 ~ who took on the challenge to be the Beta Reader for this story :)**

* * *

><p><strong>6<strong>

**~*O P P O S I T E S*~**

**xxx**

**xx**

**x**

The dark purple doors of the _Bamboo_ Nightclub swung open and a group of drunken youths stumbled giddily onto the street. One of the men wrapped a lazy arm over the shoulders of a drunken girl in heels, mouthed something in her ear and pulled them back up on the sidewalk when she swayed violently left. Their friends laughed behind them, too busy in a playful struggle to notice the strange pressure in the air. They staggered and laughed. So carefree and satisfied with their night out.

A thought flashed through Rukia's mind that she was not proud of at all. She watched from the corner of her eyes as the group of humans went pass the mouth of the alleyway. For a second she wanted to call out for help, to hope that at least _someone_ would decide to turn their head in that moment of passing and see her.

It was an idea that she was instantly ashamed of. Where would that get her? If they had indeed noticed them, to their eyes it would have been only a man and a woman standing close together by the wall. She could call out...but that would only cause more people to be in danger. But she couldn't hold back the needle-thin, pierce of hope she felt, for it only to be vanquished as they walked passed.

Shirosaki's predatory eyes glowed dimly in the darkness, calculating thoughts in his head. He breathed in the warm, humid air around him and savored it for a moment. _Two years. _It had been that long since he had been imprisoned in his King's inner world and to be honest, it felt so _fucking good_ to finally escape that immensely _boring_ prism. His senses - no, that's not right. It wasn't _his_ body just yet, it still belonged to the King - _their_ senses started to come back to him and the alcohol that knocked his King unconscious was now only a bitter taste on the back of their tongue. He could feel their own reiatsu building as he stood and shuddered pleasurably at the thought that passed his mind.

He was _free._

_Free_ from his King, from Zangetsu, from his _cage_.

And now he wanted revenge.

He watched her, a thousand thoughts running through their brilliant brain. He could, if he wanted to, kill her right then and there. But where would be the fun in that? So many years Shirosaki had to put up with this _Shinigami_ overclouding his King's thoughts. Back then, he saw nothing special about her - in fact he detested her. Every hour of every day his King would think about her, the way she walked with her nose in the air, the way she snapped her gaze to them Hell, his Hollow knew almost everything right down to the last detail of this ... this woman.

Right down to her _scent_.

Which, he had to admit, was _deliciously tempting._ It was fruity (a trait of all Shinigami scents)...with a hint of candy and ... chocolate? Instantly, his mouth began to water. _What would it be like if I ate her? Would she taste even better than she smells? Would she scream? Would she fight back? She smells so good, and I want to sink my teeth into her. It's been so long since I've had anything to eat, and I'm starving..._

Rukia's brows crinkled slightly at the scrutinizing look he gave her. Shirosaki would have cackled at the expression of trepidation that crossed the Shinigami's face, if he wasn't so caught up in his hungered thoughts. She didn't like the pregnant silence that grew between them that was so evident at that moment you could have almost cut it in half with a zunpakuto. Who was going to speak first? If anyone was going to speak that was...

Deciding he had waited long enough Shirosaki towered over her, his large hands pressed against the solid wall on either side of her head. He peered down at her and cocked his head to the side. "Rukia," he teased, his black and gold eyes narrowed slightly. He allowed his eyes to wander over her body to try and discover where her scent was most noticeable from.

The moment when the Hollow first spoke, was the moment that she knew Ichigo was gone. She inwardly flinched every time he spoke her name, with that grating voice warped with fake care and sincerity. Rukia bit back the hatred and disgust; her face remained in an ever-so-perfect poker face. She just hoped that her voice didn't sound as strangled as she thought it did, "_Hollow."_

His face remained the same, only the corner of his eyes lifted up in humor. "Rukia," he asked in mock hurt. "Why don't you like it when I speak your name?"

"Because you're a Hollow - an enemy to all Shinigami and not worthy to speak formalities." Automatic. Focused. An answer any other Shinigami would have been expected to say. She kept her gaze, cold and firm on his and Shirosaki held it. She could feel the whirlwind of emotions building up in her stomach. _Dammit. _She tore her gaze away before he could see the flash of emotion behind her eyes. _It's because you're in Ichigo and I hate you._

_"Rukia, Rukia, Rukia_," he pouted, his fingers digging sharply into the wall. A few cracks appeared as dust sprinkled the tops of her shoulders. "_I _like saying your name... it hurts when you don't say _my _name..._" _He lowered until they were eye to eye, his knee brushed against her thigh teasingly. "Do you want to know my name?"

She pressed her leg back firmly against the wall away from him. She only glared at him and his offence to personal space.

"It's Shirosaki," he murmured thickly, his eyes fell on her rosy lips. _Hunger, yes, maybe that's where it's coming from?_ "I want you to _say _it."

She didn't. She refused to. How dare this Hollow! Had he not heard her from before? They were enemies - blood ran thicker under the bridge with _him_. Rukia didn't want her personal feelings to cross over with her Shinigami duties. _Fucking Hollow, I _will _find a way to make sure you never hurt Ichigo again._

Shirosaki got impatient and brought his right hand down to capture her face. He took her chin, his index finger pressed underneath her jaw, and thumb against her lower lip. _Was it so damn difficult for her to speak? She had no fucking problem a few moments ago._ "_Say_ it, Shinigami," he murmured gently, a wicked smile pressed against his mouth. "_Say_ it."

She winced as his thumb dipped in, between her lips. His thumb pressed against her bottom front teeth, his tip touched her tongue. She tugged away, upset and angered, but his grip was locked in place. She glared at him, and refused to speak. She wouldn't. She can't give this Hollow what he wants. Not after all the pain he had caused Ichigo.

Shirosaki grinned. It was so obvious that she was upset; she was as transparent with hiding her emotions as an inch of clear water was with hiding the pebbled floor. This sort of revenge was just too _perfect_. He slipped his thumb in further, feeling the smooth, warm, moist tongue against his skin. A sudden sharp pain shot through his digit, up his arm and prickled a part of his brain that made he want to retaliate. Violently.

He just chuckled and pulled his finger from her mouth. His eyes flashed dangerously as he replied gently, "_Biting _me, Rukia isn't going to get you far."

Her cheeks were sketched in red, and she moved her face away from his hand. "Forcing someone is a cowardly act. I refuse," she turned her violet orbs to his with a burning emotion scattered within the irises. "To follow anyone who has faith in that disgusting proposition."

"Really? I just thought ya were embarrassed to say my name, when I'm in this state n' all."

"No. It's just I'm not going to lower myself to a Hollow's orders."

"Tch." His smile faded slightly and his brow twitched. It really pissed him off when everybody looked down at him. Zangetsu, the King, and all those_ high and mighty_ Soul Reapers who thought that just because he was a Hollow instantly made him the weaker one out of everyone else. Because he was a Hollow, he was instantly the bad guy. On more than several occasions he had proven to EVERYONE that he was far stronger and superior than his King - fuck he even _saved_ that _shit_ several times. If he really wanted to, he could snap her neck right now and walk away. He could force his King's eyes open, and make him watch as he devoured her alive. He replied in dry humor, "_Ouch._ Are _you_ really offended so much by me, _Rukia_?"

She didn't reply, instead watched as his eyes darkened. He can taste the change in her reiatsu - he could taste the _fear._ He pressed on, "Are you threatened so much by me, _Rukia_?"

He watched the muscles in her neck constrict and release as she swallowed nervously. His hunger pulsed and he shifted his gaze to her face, "Or is it that you're just too fucking_ disgusted_ by me?"

He purposefully pulsed out his own dark reiatsu over her and narrowed his eyes as he watched her reaction. Rukia's whole body went rigid, her knuckles whitened as she fisted the sides of her dress. She was trying hard to resist the urge to mentally snap and beat him. Her face paled at the effort as the thick and pungent smell of Hollow forced its way toxically down her throat, and into her lungs. It was so much different from Ichigo's reiatsu - the full blast of the Hollow's reiatsu strangely left the Shinigami awed at its voracity of power.

_If that's just an eighth of its true power, then he could possibly be the strongest creature I've ever met._

Shirosaki withdrew his reiatsu, slowly, purposefully, to not forgive her just yet. "Do you despise me so much that you have to get me angry?" he asked dully. "I hate it when Shinigami think that they can look down at Hollows like _me_. It fucks me off beyond words. And don't think I'm bluffin' when I say that I'll kill ya the next time to slip out of line."

He lowered his gaze to the fallen orbs. _Did she really despise being this close to him?_ He remembered the times that he had sat behind his King and watched her, whenever those two thought that they were alone. Yet, there was always that... that _look_ she gave to his King... and to him alone. It was full of hope and happiness that almost made the Hollow curious.

Every time she did, his King would be laughing and smiling and the inner world would shine so brightly, it would burn Shirosaki's skin until he had to break the glass and hide within the cool darkness of the buildings underneath.

Somewhere deep inside him, Shirosaki felt an unfamiliar feeling. It was between fear and anger. Before he could wonder any more of _why_, the feeling disappeared. It was at that moment that he wanted her to share that look with only _him_ - to feel the feeling that his King had so often told him years ago.

_"Aw, _Rukia," he murmured and dragged his hands down from the walls to grip her tense shoulders. "Don't be so angry at me! I like hearing it when you're upset and angry. I _hate_ it when you don't speak. 'Sides," he grinned and ruffled her hair. "I like talking to you."

She winced at the feel of his heavy hand on top of her head. She looked at the cotton strands that had sown the leather of Ichigo's shoes together. "...How long?" she mumbled.

"What?" Shirosaki narrowed his eyes.

Rukia looked up at him and breathed in a deep breath to ready herself for her own question, "How long has it been since the last time you got out?"

Shirosaki cocked his head to the side. _Interesting._ He knew exactly what she was talking about, but remained coy and teasing. "I don't understand what ya sayin'."

Rukia turned her head to the side and transfixed her gaze to the end of the alleyway. "I mean, how long has it been since you..." she huffed, cheeks red. _Is she embarrassed?_ "You know, been in control of this body?"

Shirosaki shrugged. Was she worried that he had broken out numerous times since she had left him and the King alone? "If ya wonderin' if I hurt the Kingy since you were gone there's no need to waste ya breath."

"..."

Shirosaki leant closer to her and waited until her eyes caught his before he continued. "C'mon, Rukes, I know that ain't the question that's been itchin' ya skull. Just say it."

Her mask was back down yet even that couldn't hide the red that creeped its way to her cheeks. "I'm just curious to know if you're...hungry after all that time."

"I'm not hungry," he whispered, the wicked fox-like grin returned and Rukia had to drop her gaze again to the floor in chagrin.

At that moment, his hunger peaked. It pulsed the adrenaline through his body. Another wave of Hollow reiatsu pulsed towards her. This time it caressed her own, bringing out a feeling in the pit of Rukia's stomach that she had never felt before.

He ducked his head to the exposed creamy white curve of her neck, and brushed his moist lips against her soft skin. She shuddered at the touch, her eyes shut closed. "I'm _starving,_" he confessed thickly.

Fuck the King. Fuck Zangetsu. Fuck Soul Reapers. Fuck everyone who looked down on him.

Rukia knew this situation was bad, very bad indeed. She had no way of getting out of her Gigai, as the Chappy stick beholding her soul candy laid dispensed on the wet cobble ground a few feet away from them. Her anger instantaneously evaporated and fear took place with an iron grip. There was a high possibility that the Hollow could kill her right now.

He slid his rough hands down her outer arms, fingers greedily grasped her waist. He pressed his thumbs into her soft flesh and lowered them until he could feel the pressure of her hipbones beneath.

"Though..." He pulled back with his gaze upon her frigid expression. Her violet orbs were wide and hazed, tormented in every meaning of the word from his assault. It satisfied him for a moment to see her looking _up_ at him rather than _down._ "As much as your pretty little scent is, there is _one_ small problem."

_One small problem?_ Rukia bit back bitter laughter. Now he was getting all self-honorable over it? She wanted to scream and kick and fight back and call him a thousand names and more. She hated herself for this situation - for being alone like this in the first place.

"Well, it's a small problem now," Shirosaki bantered. "There's something that you haven't told us, isn't there Rukes?"

His thumbs still moved in those provocative circles on her stomach. She reached out and grabbed his wrists. The thick pale muscles constricted underneath his warm skin in the moonlight. She ignored the fire that burned where their skin touched. "Please..." Had she gone to the stage where begging for mercy was in order? "Please stop doing that."

He stopped his movements and she instantly dropped her grip. She looked away and whispered, "He's not...listening is he?"

"Tch." He was the one to look away then. He glared at the opening of the alley and let his mind wander. In the inner world, lying on a glass window in black robes, the King stirred.

But didn't wake.

Shirosaki answered her with a look and Rukia relaxed slightly. She sighed, "good."

"You really don't wanna let him know, do ya?" he asked her.

She gazed up at him and the look sent an unpleasant shock down his spine. The look was nothing more than true will power and selflessness. "No, of course not."

"So ya gonna hide it from him, is that it?" he asked again.

Rukia let out an empty laugh, "No, I'm not. But if it's going to threaten his happiness, then I'll wait. I don't think he's going to be ready for it. He'll just blow it out of proportion like he always does..." Her eyes softened. _Silly Berry._

Shirosaki scrutinized what he was seeing in front of him. He was hell bent on revenge and he was at his limits with his hunger but he couldn't help but to feel curious. He weighed out his options. It was all too interesting. Deciding right then and there, the Hollow moves towards another tactic.

It could go in his favor.

"You know," he replied casually. "This thing you're sufferin' from, it ain' an illness."

Rukia's ears almost pricked up.

"It's a Hollow," Shirosaki continued in a curious tone. Rukia's mouth fell open in shock. "Buried deep into the core of your inner world."

_A-a Hollow?_ Rukia felt the waves of fear come crashing into her. Her mask completely faltered and her eyes widened. _How can a Hollow be inside of me? Is it true, Shirayuki? Is there a Hollow in my Soul?_

There was no answer, just silence. Rukia had never been so terrified in her life and the no replies from her zanpakuto had supported the fact that she should be freaking out. Had it already gotten to Shirayuki? Was it already too late? Her mind reeled towards the faces of the Hollows she reaped - off all the Hybrids that she faced in battle.

Is she going to turn into a monster?

"I-impossible!" Rukia choked out, her mind spinning. There's no such thing! He's lying! She tried to breath, but felt her throat close on her. _Fuck! It can't be true!_

"I can feel it in you're reiatsu," Shirosaki replied calmly as Rukia knelt forward, clutching her head. "It's untraceable in this stage, but I can feel it. It's feeding off your spiritual pressure as it grows within you, Rukia-"

"It's NOT true - you're - you're-!" She shook her head. She'd have to go to Urahara again and get it checked over - Yes! Of course, then she could know for certain!

She gripped her head. She was expecting anything _but_ that - hell she was ready for the Hollow to gloat and sexually abuse her. But she had her - her _own_ Hollow inside? How is that possible?

"You know," Shirosaki said and leant over to her. Her gaze snapped up to his, her eyes wide and terrified. "I _could_ help you get rid of it at this stage. Afterwards, it might be too strong to do so and you'd have to fight it."

"How?" Rukia replied warily.

His lips curled upwards, "if you let me inside of you're inner world, I'll _eat _it just for you-"

WHACK!

Shirosaki's head snapped backwards and he turned slowly back to her, his eyes livid. Rukia was nursing her swelling hand and glared at him, "Never," she growled. "In a _million_ years would I allow you to do that."

He chuckled darkly, no hint of amusement in his voice. "Then what do you propose you do? Sit and twiddle your thumbs before you turn into a Hollow yourself?"

Her eyes glazed over as she fell back into her dead-end thoughts. "You can't fall back to Shinigami," he interrupted, reading her thoughts. "Not even that brother of yours. From the day you were born you were a traitor to all Soul Reapers."

He lifted his hand up and brushed a sweaty bang from her face. With one rough, calloused hand he brought it up to cup her face. "The only one you can trust is _me_," he replied as gently as he could.

"I can't trust you."

"Why?" he asked quietly and stepped closer to her. "Is it because I'm a Hollow? _I'm_ the one that figured it out weeks ago that you were slowly deteriorating. My _King_ hasn't even figured it out yet. He's still obsessed with that whore of a woman to even bother looking at you. He doesn't even think about you anymore."

It hurt, she had to admit that Ichigo didn't think of her that way. _He could be lying to you_, she thought to herself. That was nothing she had to get too worried about. _Ichigo can love whom he wants to love and I will support him in any way possible._

Shirosaki brushed his body against hers, satisfied at the pained emotion that flashed through the Shinigami's eyes. His voice purred, "I see the way you look at him. I see the_ desire_. Is it the body?"

He pressed in closer, feeling every contour of her body against his own. He held back an animalistic purr in his throat. Her warm body pulsed underneath his and she snapped her face away from him, "D-don't-"

One hand slid down to the exposed creamy, soft calf and wrapped around it. He hitched it up slowly so her legs separated and wrapped it firmly around his hip. He shuddered. That made her so… so… _eatable._"Because I can see right through you, Shinigami. You-"

He pressed his pelvis hard against her inner thighs and she let out a gasp through gritted teeth. She could feel _everything _of his underneath the hard fabric of his jeans_._ "Are-"

He bent his mouth to her nose and pulled back his lips to bite the tip of it. The taste of her tingles the Hollows tongue as he pulls it back into his mouth. She tasted like everything they – _he_ needed. Soft and sweet, yet spicy. He wanted it – he wanted to eat her. _Now._

He dropped his hand from her hair and grabbed her arms, yanking them both above her head. Rukia's eyes snapped open, hazed in confusion, fear and anger. Shirosaki's eyes fell on to her jugular, the wicked smile returned. "Weak."

And with that Rukia let out a pained cry. She had tried to hold it back, the raw emotions, _everything_. She had refused and fought back, but he had been just as resilient. He hated her for her strength, she hated him for his.

"I _will_ come back," he replied in her ear. Deep down inside, his King had awoken. "It may not be everyday, but I'll be back to see you, Rukia."

She looked away, burned and vulnerable. She hated how she felt so _good_ with his body against hers. She hated how she wanted to fight back and be the stronger one out of both of them. She didn't want to feel the need that she was dependent on him. He was the enemy, but one that wanted to help her.

He stepped back, and Rukia fell hard against the wall for support. She pressed herself up by the heels of her feet, and forced herself _not_ to pant.

"I think I should let him be just this once," Shirosaki said calmly and took another step back, pushing his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. His eyes gleamed. "Sayonara, midget!"

And then he collapsed.

It took a moment or two for Rukia to react. Her feet moved - ungraciously so - forward like a new born calf at their own accord. She knelt down to the body and watched as his body faded back into his human state. Ichigo had returned and Rukia breathed out a thankful sigh of relief.

His brown eyes peered through his heavy lids to the Kuchiki bent over him. "Rukia..." he stirred awake. When he tried to move, a wave of pain shot across his forehead. He winced and rubbed the growing migraine. _Shit_, couldn't describe how sick he felt. "What-what happened?"

She wanted to wrap her arms around him, to just not speak. She wanted one of Ichigo's hugs right then, to feel at peace and safe again, to make the horrible truth be nothing more than a conversation between enemies. She wanted him to understand her at that moment and be there for her. Tell her that everything was going to be okay, that everything was going to last longer than what fate had planned for it.

"Ichigo," her voice choked with happiness. She helped him up to a sitting position and he groaned in response. Rukia pressed a small, firm hand on his back and guided his head down between his knees to help with the dizziness. _If he wasn't in such a state, I'd be kicking his ass. _"You passed out, idiot and I'm not letting you do it again on me. Keep your head down... that's it. Keep it there, okay? It'll help with the dizziness you're feeling."

Ichigo just nodded. If he opened his mouth, he was going to be sick. He kept his mouth clamped shut, both hands tangled tightly in his hair. Rukia rubbed his back in soothing circles, "just concentrate on breathing... deep breaths, that's it."

The world spun around him and he tried hard to ignore the convulses in his stomach. _Don't get sick. Don't get sick. Don't get sick._

Rukia's voice was far away and loud at the same time. He wanted to lift his head, but she just pressed it back down again, "I'm going to pick you up in a minute. I'll be right back-"

"Where..." he panted through gritted teeth. Panic flooded through him as her hand moved away from his back. He didn't dare lift his head as his gut heaved oddily again. "Where are you going... Rukia... stay here..."

"I'm not giving up on you just yet," she teased lightly. "Don't worry, I'm still here, Ichigo just give me a second."

Before Ichigo could say anything else, a cool breeze ruffled his hair and Rukia was back, her small hands on his hunched shoulders, her quiet voice in his ear, "Ichigo... can you manage to stand?"

He dropped his hands from his head and gave a nod. Eye hidden under his bangs in concentration, he found his feet like a new born calf...and fell sideways.

"I-Ichigo!" Rukia appeared underneath his arm just in time and pushed him back up. "Are you ok? Do you want to sit down again?"

He shook his head.

Rukia hitched his body wieght around her shoulders and glanced up - to the side at his slumped figure. "Close your eyes. I'm going to shunpo us home when you're ready."

He gave a nod.

"A. Three..."

A strange feeling burned through his body just then. Somewhere in the back of his mind he suddenly registered how close he was to her.

"...two..."

He tightened his arm around her. She tightened her hold against his waist and arm.

"...one."

The ground beneath their feet vanished and Ichigo felt the pull of her shunpo. They slipped through the night air, their feet brushed against the roofs of buildings and apartments. The wind was merciful against his flushed skin, bathing his hot body in relief. He almost wanted to open his eyes, to wonder if he was getting too heavy for Rukia as they passed over roads and quiet neighbourhoods, but she would just tell him that he was fine. That they were almost there.

It may had last seconds, or minutes, Ichigo didn't know. He had no sense of time when they arrived at the window of his bedroom. All he felt was when she gripped the window ledge and pulled them inside. He had never felt so relieved to be in his bed again and he instantly rolled over onto his stomach, his hands wrapped around his pillow. The window clicked shut.

He heard her walk quietly to the cupboard and slid it open. _You can stay here, if you want, midget. _

He heard the rustle of fabric and his bedroom door click open as Rukia went to change out of her clothes. Ichigo felt the sleep pull him under and time slip by. It wasn't until he heard his door close and the small patter of her bare feet against his floorboards that he eased himself to wake. She sat down beside him on the bed as he pretended to sleep, liking the way how her reitsu washed over his own. She sat there for mintues, hours maybe. Ichigo didn't care. He liked the fact that Rukia's eyes were running over his body.

Then, in a whisper, "Ichigo... are you still awake?"

He didn't reply, he nuzzled deeper into his pillow.

He pictured Rukia rolling her eyes then. "Ichigo. I know you're awake, idiot."

_Damn._ "You're too loud, midget," he grumbled and scowled in his sleep.

A small smile teased her lips. "Baka! I just carried you home and this is what I get?"

"Mmm..."

She hit him in the arm. "Fine. I'll see you're hung over ass bright and early tomorrow." She stood up and went to the door.

"Rukia," he whispered, he reached outwards but fell back exhausted. _So tired. I can't move..._

She paused, her hand on the doorframe. "Yeah?"

"Thanks...for staying with me back then ... midget."

A smile graced her lips as she turned to close the door behind her. "Any time, Baka."

* * *

><p>Another chapter completed! *Dusts hands proudly*<p>

This chapter was a pain in the ass - I'm not gonna lie - Shirosaki was freaking HARD to nail down as a character. He's super cocky but doesn't like to be fucked with and I fail so badly at cocky one-liners... TT_TT

**TBC~ Ichigo is unaware of Shirosaki's conversation with Rukia and both try to live normal lives once again. But now that Shirosaki has shown himself, the wheels of his plan have begun to turn and two weeks later, Rukia and him meet again in the most strangest situation...**

**Is Rukia going to die? Or turn into a Vizard?**

**Is she going to trust the one person that causes the one she loves so much pain?**


	8. Cadbury and the Bond

**AN: So uhh... can you try not to kill me? TAT *UPDATE* Also, thanks to the reviewer _Anya_ who noticed that I misspelt a few names wrong. Thanks for letting me know haha I didn't see those there ... /sweat drops/**

* * *

><p>Rukia was awake and dressed before anyone else.<p>

She couldn't sleep at all last night, not after what had happened. In fact, Rukia didn't bother trying to sleep as much as her body wanted to. Her mind was still reliving the moments with Ichigo's Hollow. And to sleep, to still feel his hands on her, terrified her even more.

After tossing and turning in the pale yellow summer sheets, she gave up trying to rest all together. The Hollow's offer was still replaying in her mind. What was his motive? What did he really want? What was he up to? Their conversation had sent her mind spinning around – full on unanswered questions. Did she really trust him?

Her answer was simple: no.

Not in the slightest did she feel as if she could trust him. He was a _Hollow_ and no matter how much Rukia already loathed him because of _what_ he was, she also accepted the fact that he was a part of Ichigo. But a side nether less that she was cautious of.

And what he said to her about Ichigo and how he touched her. Rukia's elfish face crinkled into a deep scowl and her hands curled into fists. That bastard. How dare he use that against her? She spent the rest of the night outside, sitting on the rooftop deep in thought until dawn.

The morning rays crawled slowly up the passageway to Karin's room, igniting the corridor in a lazy glow. Inside the house, the others stirred awake in the peaceful morning. Even Rukia had managed to doze off, bathing quietly in the sun as she hummed quietly. Even though she loved watching the moon, the sun was just a beautiful.

Yuzu had gotten up extra early to beat her brother to the shower. The hotwater pipe's hummed quietly in the walls

Isshin shuffled down the stairs in an open fluffy white robe with cotton pajama pants and dark blue slippers. "Good morning, my beautiful third daughter!" he greeted, a goofy smile plastered on his face as he headed towards the kitchen. "You're up early after a late night! What's the matter? Couldn't sleep?"

That was exactly that. But Isshin was one of the few people that she didn't want to get all worried. If Isshin was anything like his son, then the male-bravado would be almost too irritating to handle. So she gave her sweetest smile and bowed politely as a reply.

"I'm feeling fine now, thank you …dad. I have always been a early riser."

Isshin turned the kettle on for his morning coffee and grunted, "then maybe you could teach me idiotic son of mine to get his lazy ass out of bed on time…"

Rukia got off the couch and paused at the kitchen door. She bit her lip.

Isshin went to the fridge and fished out the milk sitting on the middle shelf. "Do you want a drink, Rukia?" he offered.

"No thank you…" she replied as she watched Isshin move to the cupboards and grabbed two mismatched mugs and began to hunt for the coffee bag.

"So what did you two end up doing last night?" Isshin casually replied, even though his intentions were more than curious. He was looking forward to finding out what happened and use it against Ichigo as blackmail. His eyes danced. "Did he finally become a man?"

Rukia averted her gaze, thankful that Isshin had his back turned to her as he spooned in the coffee to the two individual cups. The kettle started to whistle quietly. There were many things that happened – and all that Rukia didn't want to see the light of day again. Her sudden happy mood had vanished momentarily as she thought of an answer. "Your son has drinking problems." She finally replied. Cool, calm and collected.

Isshin barked a hearty laugh and agreed, unaware of how quiet her voice had become, "he is a hopeless, bastard."

Waiting for the kettle to boil, he settled the spoon next to the mugs and turned to Rukia and leant over the counted like some gossipy schoolgirl. "Is that all?" he pouted and for a man his age, it didn't do him any good. "No juicy stories? Rukia, my third daughter! I thought that even _you_ might know some gossip that could send my son howling to his daddy for advice!"

Rukia couldn't help but to laugh, though it was short and quick Isshin had secretly noticed and there was something in her eyes that he couldn't quite figure out. "Well…" Rukia began slowly, thinking back to a thousand ways to torture the Strawberry. "He did get into a fight with Cap – Toshiro-chan so much so that lets just say I don't think we can return to that restaurant ever again…"

Isshin's eyes glinted mischievously. "Really? My boy can't even handle a drop of sweet sake! Oh, _Masaki_," Isshin had turned to the large poster of his beloved wife on the wall, groping the corners of the paper. "_Our son is a violent drunk! What should I do? I don't know what to say! Masaki, what happens if he drinks again?"_

Even though Isshin didn't really give a shit that his son had started a fight when he was drinking, he knew him well enough that no harm would come to any woman. Ichigo was a very protective character, especially when it came to women and would never lower himself – drunk or sober – to abuse them. He could fight as many men as he wanted to his hearts content.

Rukia rolled her eyes at the over-the-top gesture and chuckled. Isshin pulled himself together after a moment as the kettle whistled loudly in the house and Rukia, not knowing what to do with herself, went over and took it off the stove. Steam rose past her and she could still feel the water bubbling inside the pot as she held it. She then proceeded to finish the coffee that Isshin had started.

"Milk?" Rukia asked in a deadpanned voice as Isshin groveled on the floor.

He nodded and Rukia dashed some in a mug before she lowered the lid to the other. _Must be Ichigo's coffee_, and with a little smirk growing, decided to put the milk back into the fridge instead of pouring it into the mug. She knew that Ichigo always liked his coffee sweet and milky. A part of Rukia couldn't help but to cackle darkly inside as a steam-like skull rose from the black coffee. _Serves you right for being an idiot, Strawberry…_

"What? What is this? My third daughter made me coffee?" Rukia almost believed he was going to behave until he threw himself back in front of Misaki's shrine. "Oh, so there is hope for our family, Masaki! None of the others would be this kind to daddy, _its so beautiful~"_

Rukia chuckled and side stepped his body as she passed him his coffee. He thanked her as she headed to the stairs, Ichigo's mug of dark, bitter coffee in hand-

There was a knock on the door and Rukia arched her brows. Who would be at the door this early in the morning? She turned from the stairs and opened the front door.

"Oh, Inoue-chan, good morning," Rukia said politely at the woman who looked rather unsettled and worried. Her eyes fell across to Orihime's frame – still adorned in her pajamas and slippers and she was immediately worried herself. Her hair was wind-blown and her chest heaved gently with pants from a run. "Is everything okay? Has something happened?"

"Oh… n-no, not at all," Orihime replied rather sheepishly. A light blush adorned her cheeks as she clasped her hands together nervously. She didn't mean for Rukia to get worried as the raven haired girl knotted her brows in confusion. "I mean – I didn't mean to startle you, Kuchiki-chan. I-I was just here to see if Kurosaki-kun was alright from last night, that's all."

Rukia's eyes narrowed thinly, but Orihime took no notice as she entered the house. _She was here for Ichigo?_ A slither of a knot tied in her gut but she cast it away as she closed the door. She turned to see a rather flushed Orihime standing awkwardly in the hallway.

"You didn't think this could wait until school?" Rukia asked, trying to sound as polite as she could.

Orihime blushed. Now that she came to realize it, she could have just waited until she got to school… she hung her head in embarrassment. She must had looked like a fool to everyone to run dressed as she was. Toshiro-chan and Matsumoto-chan exchanged glances to each other when Orihime ripped open the front door that morning.

"I'm an idiot… aren't I?" Orihime muttered, blushing madly.

Rukia gave her a soft smile. "You're not an idiot, Orihime-chan."

At the sound of the two voices in the hall, Isshin's head peaked over the kitchen door. His sparkly grin returned. "Orihime-chan! Good morning!"

Orihime turned and brightened her smile to Isshin. "Good morning, Kurosaki-sensei! Sorry for me to barge in at this time in the morning!"

"That's alright! Are you here to slap some sense into my son? He needs to get his ass out of bed or he'll be late for school."

She gave a cheery nod and headed up the stairs, before Rukia changed her thoughts and ran up to the girl, "Oi, Orihime-chan, give this to that idiot will you?"

Orihime gave Rukia a questioning look before her eyes fell onto the cup of coffee. _Kurosaki-kun has coffee in the morning? Did Kuchiki-san make this for him? Was she going to give it to him herself?_ "Ah, thank you, Kuchiki-chan. I will." Her slender fingers took the cup of black coffee with a soft smile on her lips and turned to head up the stairs.

Rukia stared after her, a light frown on her face until she heard Isshin clearing his throat. He had leant against the doorframe, arms crossed and coffee in hand. He gave her a small, acknowledging smile before he turned and walked away.

~xxx~

It was another bright and sunny day when the bell rang for lunch. It was too hot to eat on the roof – their usual spot – and they were invited by Orihime to eat with them under the cool shade of the willow tree. Most of the girls complained at the idea but Orihime shrugged, she wanted to spend her lunch with Ichigo – though she never said it out loud and thought it would be too rude if she had just invited only him herself.

"Would you like to come eat with us, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked shyly, fiddling with the hem of her skirt as the lunch bell rang and students began to head into the corridor. She flickered her eyes up to the usual group that lingered around his desk.

"Aw, what about us, Inoue-san?" Keigo grinned, "us" meaning rather "me".

Ichigo suppressed the action to punch his face in and stood up, collecting his books as he did. He turned to Orihime and smiled softly, "sure, Orihime."

Orihime couldn't help but to feel transfixed in those eyes. It reminded her of the sun, burning hot and bright, drowning her senses as she tried to find her sanity. Realizing that she was staring and _everybody_ was staring at her, she blushed and averted her gaze to the others. She felt like she would explode if she kept staring into those eyes, filling her with a radiance that only Kurosaki-kun could hold. "You can come to if you want!" she beamed.

There was a loud scrap as a chair was slid backwards across the floor, startling everyone. Rukia had abruptly stood up, eyes closed in annoyance as she picked up her books. "Excuse me," she replied to all of them and turned to walk to the door before Orihime could say her name.

Rukia walked into the crowded hallway, her heart hammering and her stomach in her throat. Her lungs twisted and convulsed inside, shuddering violently. She hurried down the hall, unable to speak as she bumped into others. She ducked into the pushing crowd to the girls bathroom. A group of girls were over by the mirrors, retouching their makeup and gossiping. Rukia inwardly cursed. Now was _not_ a good time. She could feel her coughing fit grow, her head began to get dizzy, her palms began to sweat and the room began to slowly tilt around her. Rukia pulled out the Chappy dispenser from her skirt pocket and shoved it in her mouth.

Her soul form exploded from behind her standing Gigai just as the Kuchiki began to feel the pain. She stumbled backwards doubled up in pain as she coughed painfully, right into and _through_ a girl that had just walked through the bathroom door. The girl shivered and glanced up to the person that she mistook was that Rukia girl from Class B. "That was weird…" she mumbled to herself and walked to a cubicle.

Her Gigai looked warily around and pulled out Rukia's phone and placed it over her ear. She then let her eyes fall onto her master who was crumpled and coughing, gripping her stomach and asked quietly, "Do you need anything?"

Rukia was left panting, her fingers curled like talons on the floor. The coughing had finally ceased, yet gravity was still dancing around her. "G-give me a m-minute," Rukia murmured lightly.

"It's getting worse," her Gigai replied quietly and shifted her body so her back was towards the others. Her voice was wobbling with worry. "Please, you need to let someone help you."

"I-I'm fine."

"At least talk about it," her Gigai pleaded.

"I-It will go away."

"Then tell to Kurosaki-kun-"

"I said I'm _fine_!" Rukia shouted, glaring up at the soul candy inhabiting her Gigai. She grabbed hold onto the wall next to her and pulled herself up. The world had stopped spinning but was still vibrating around the edges. Her Gigai lowered her eyes, hurt flashed across them.

"I'm just worried, that's all…" she confessed quietly.

Rukia sighed and closed her eyes. "Baka…I told you not to get worried," Rukia smiled softly and opened her eyes when the storm had cleared in her mind. "I was just caught off guard then, that's all."

"Are you going to take up that Hollow's offer?" she asked and Rukia lowered her gaze.

The bathroom door opened and Orihime walked in, her eyes falling onto the turned back of her petite best friend. "Kuchiki-chan! Kuchiki-chan, are you al…?" her voice faded as she approached. Then her eyes instantly fell on the _real_ Rukia in Shinigami robes, leaning breathlessly against the tiled wall and looking warily back at her.

Orihime was instantly confused. "What's happened? Why are you…?" she let her voice fade as the two Rukia Kuchiki's turned to her. She paused and waited until all other occupants left the bathroom stalls. One of the girls leaving recognized Orihime and smiled. "I knew you and Kurosaki-san would be an item!"

"Oh…uh, thank you," Orihime bowed, a little embarrassed. Rukia's hand balled into a fist.

When the three of them were finally alone, the real Rukia talked first. "I'm fine, Inoue-chan. I had to discuss some things with my Gigai."

"Oh…" _What about? _Orihime frowned lightly. "Well, I was just checking up on you. You seemed tense when you ran out of class before and I wasn't sure if it was something that I said or…"

But Rukia just brushed her off, giving her human best friend a confident smile. "You worry too much for someone you're age. Go and have lunch, I'll join you in a moment."

"Alright…" Orihime wasn't totally convinced that Rukia was telling the truth, but she didn't want to push her to say anything. She just nodded and smiled, "see you there, Kuchiki-chan."

Rukia sighed and moved back into her Gigai after the two females gave a spared a weary glance. When she felt her soul mold back into the body, she placed the Soul Candy into the dispenser and into her skirt pocket.

Rukia washed her face and dried it with some paper towels before heading back out into the corridor. She went over to her locker and placed her books back in their usual place and grabbed the bento box that Yuzu made for her this morning. Rukia smiled at the thought of her. Yuzu was a lovely soul that would make any man proud.

She made her way down the hall to the back of the school and pushed the doors open. She scanned the area, feeling the familiar tug of warm reitsu and followed it to a large willow tree at the end of the school grounds. It reminded Rukia of the other willow tree she used to sit beneath when she had visited Ichigo and the others in high school a few years ago, but this one was just as lovely.

Orihime waved Rukia over and patted a free space of lush, clipped grass next to her. Keigo was chatting up one of the girls in Orihime's group. Mizuiro was on his phone, busily texting and giving one-word answers to another guy. Tatsuki was talking to a new girl. Ishida was ignoring everyone and eating his food. Chad was resting against the trunk of the tree, knees up and playing with a blade of grass. Orihime was leaning over to Ichigo, sitting uncomfortably close in Rukia's opinion and playing with the grass beneath her, talking with him. Rukia felt her heart tug a little when Ichigo smirked at Orihime, leant over and kissed her cheek.

Rukia immediately wanted to leave. She did _not_ want to see that at all. An overwhelming sense feeling of melancholy briefly ran through her. She had _never_ seen Ichigo kiss someone – not even his sisters and it was hard to see him to indifferently lean over and peck Orihime. Her mind was running a thousand miles an hour and her heart hammered in her chest. She quickly averted her gaze from the two before anyone could question her. Were the gods against her happiness? The moment that she realized she had feelings for Ichigo were now stripped from her as he gave affection towards another woman?

They broke apart and Rukia wanted so _badly_ to wrench Ichigo off Orihime and drag him to a tree and chain him there and beat him into a bloody pulp. But she couldn't feel angry at either of them, only towards herself. At the same time she shouldn't be feeling like this about it. She should be happy for them both … Rukia grimaced and sat down next to Orihime.

She was suddenly put off eating any food. At that moment, all Rukia really wanted to be left alone. Their group of friends suddenly felt _too_ crowded and Rukia wished she could climb at the tree and be away with them all. Or to sink into the ground and never come back up.

They were both efficient.

"How are you feeling now, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked him quietly. Rukia wasn't meant to hear this; they were having a private talk. The Shinigami tried hard to ignore it but she couldn't help but to listen as she opened her bento box, pretending to scan the grounds.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Ichigo shrugged. "I'm feeling okay. The hangover is gone so that's pretty good."

Rukia snorted. _Could this become anymore cliché and cheesy?_

"What's that, midget?" Ichigo's ears pricked up the small noise that came from his midget and snapped his gaze to her icily. "Why would you care how I felt after spiking my coffee this morning?" Before Rukia could speak he added in a deadly tone. "I knew it was you."

She smirked, wanting nothing more than to swipe at his face. The anger inside her suddenly fueled her mouth. "Oh, please, _Cadbury_. If you're looking for a pity party, then look somewhere else. Besides, it served you right for acting like an idiot last night. Thanks to you _Cadbury_, I'm sure we're never allowed to show our face in that part of town ever again."

Ichigo was getting annoyed. From his coffee, by her smirk, by that stupid nickname. He wanted to say something to her, anything to shut her up. But he couldn't think of anything smart to say and just blurted angrily, "What the hell is _Cadbury?"_

Rukia gazed at him, her eyes dangerous but her smile still in place. "_One and a half cups,_" she replied rather smugly as Ichigo's brows twitched in realization. She turned calmly to her bento box and plucked off the lid. "I rather like it, now that I've seen that drunk side of you. It suits you rather well."

Ichigo's cheeks flushed. Now _everybody_ would be teasing him. Sure, things had gotten out of hand and he blacked out for a bit, but who hasn't? Refusing to give up his dignity, he growled, "It was my first time drinking! Besides, what would you be? With someone in a size like you, you'd probably pass out by just sniffing it."

"Now, no need to get offended, Korusaki," Ishida interjected. "There's no need to throw a tantrum like a five year old."

"Shut it, Special Ed." Ichigo replied and crossed his arms.

"_Cadbury_." Ishida hated Ichigo's new personal nickname for him. _Sewing_, Ishida had defensively pointed out, _is a very knowledgeable interest that requires accuracy and co-ordination. But I doubt you'd understand either, Kurosaki, as your brain is as shrewd as a caveman's._

"It's not Cadbury!"

"Cadbury?" Tatsuki asked, her eyes immediately focusing on Ichigo across from her. Ichigo _refused_ to let this nickname to get the better of him. "Is that a new nickname, Kurosaki?"

"No, it's not. It's just some stupid thing that midget said," he replied hotly, his arms crossed yet again and his nose in the air. _How dare he look down on her?_ Rukia wanted to shove her chopsticks up his nose.

Then again…

"OW! WHAT THE _FUCK_ RUKIA!"

She smirked, successfully lodging a chopstick in his left nostril satisfied. "How many times must I tell you not to call me midget?"

"Bitch! First it was my coffee and now it's my nose-" Ichigo threw her offending chopstick away, clutching his now bright red face.

"Kurosaki-kun, please don't say that towards Kuchiki-chan," Orihime said, a small smile graced her lips.

Rukia watched as her chopstick spiraled into the distance and over the fence. She was on her little feet in a matter of moments. "FOOL! That was _my_ chopstick! How am I supposed to eat my food?"

Ichigo had to blink a few times as the sharp pain dulled into a uncomfortable numbness. "Why the hell would I care?" Was she just looking for a fight? Because he was ready to give her one. Furious beyond words and withdrawing the action to cross his arms, he pointed at the woman. "Eat shit Kuchiki!"

"You senseless jerk! I demand you to go get my chopstick!"

"Get off your high and mighty ass and find it yourself!" If he was standing, he would have stomped his foot, but Ichigo just looked over a nervous looking Orihime and glared at the midget.

Rukia gripped the hem of her skirt, her eyes flashing dangerously. She knew she was being mean, but it was too fun to tease him – especially when he made it so easy. And she was angry too. She drew a breath and replied in a tone that could freeze hell over, "Ichigo Kurosaki, if you do _not_ get my chopstick, I _will_ tell your father about your nickname."

Ichigo was being stubborn now. "Do it. I don't care." And for a second, he honestly didn't.

Ishida smirked. Chad sighed. Orihime smiled nervously_._ Tatsuki rolled her all thought the same thing: _you really shouldn't have said that Ichigo…_

Rukia whisked her phone from her pocket and dialed the Kurosaki Clinic. In a matter-of-fact tone, she began, "Hello Dr. Kurosaki, it's Rukia! I forgot to tell you one more thing this morning-"

Ichigo staggered over Orihime. Rukia stood abruptly up and side stepped out of his reach, her phone never leaving her ear. "Yes, yes, its about your idiot of a son-"

"_Rukia_." he warned. His eyes flashed. Did she really think that she could get away with this? He gave her his best glare, in an attempt to pull her bluff. Rukia's eyes gleamed impishly, never showing a card.

Ichigo wasn't playing games. Fuck it, she's in for it.

The moment Ichigo got onto his feet was the moment alarm bells began to ring in Rukia's head. The last thing that he wanted was his father adding another ridiculous nickname to his retarded list of idiotic things that frustrated and antagonized his son. Rukia was playing with fire, whether she was aware of it or not and Ichigo would do anything in his power to extinguish it. Copper dangerously flashed against wicked amethyst.

He raised his hand, waiting for the phone. It could end now, a truce, and both sides would be able to part ways. No one would get hurt, everyone would carry on like nothing happened and the formidable _Cadbury_ would never surface to see the light of day_. Ever._

"Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime was nervous now. The look in his eyes was deadly intent and the target locked was Rukia. Didn't he notice that she was just teasing him?

But all that was going through his head was: She just started a war.

They were in the middle of a deadly tango. Ichigo narrowed his eyes. Rukia's lip twitched upwards.

Ichigo's sneaky step suddenly turned into a lunge as Rukia darted away from him. The group fell into a chime of laughter that was incapable to break through the soundproof bloodthirsty thoughts. He cursed, spinning around to see her already halfway across the grounds, gaining ground very quickly.

And she every reason to be running as fast as her Gigai would allow before absconding into Shunpo because no later a _very_ hot-headed Kurosaki was in pursuit of her little ass. "Rukia! Drop that phone - _RIGHT NOW!_"

"Go get my chopstick!" she tossed over her shoulder. Ichigo was almost screaming at her like bloody murder as everyone's eyes in the vicinity turned curiously towards the two.

"YOU BETTER RUN MIDGET BECAUSE I'M GOING TO UNLEASH _HELL_ ONTO YOU!"

Her laughter bubbled out to his ears. Rukia never dared to stop. She felt so carefree and happy – the time that Ichigo and herself had missed this last month. He was never around anymore for her to poke fun at, or fume to or use as her personal punching bag and grab her and talk mushy, cheesy, cliché things that she secretly admired an idiot like himself could say. She dug the balls of her feet harder into the ground so she had more speed in her run. She felt selfish, to admit it and ashamed to even think about it, but when Ichigo was with her, she felt like she was back in the good all days, when they were team kickass against Hollows and the world couldn't stop them.

"MIDGET!"

The school and the students were pushed back into Rukia's mind. All that she heard was the hard padding of her shoes against the grass and her harsh panting. Forgetting where she was, she effortlessly leaped on top of a staircase railing, giving several gasps from students, "Yes Isshin – of course he is, but you wouldn't believe-"

"RUKIA IF YOU WANT TO LIVE ANOTHER DAY YOU WON'T SAY WHAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO SAY-"

Rukia smirked at the oncoming strawberry bulleting like a rocket train towards her. She twisted around on the railing with a smug smile on her face, a hand on her little hip and her phone against her ear. "His new name is Cadb-"

Even though she was standing on the railing, Ichigo easily hooked his arm around her knees and clamped his hand over her mouth. Rukia wriggled and squirmed as he took her off the railing and began to attempt to pry the phone out of her fingers.

Ichigo's voice was low and quiet with a slither of lethal. His bangs prickled her left cheek. "Give me the phone midget, or so be it, I will tear all your Chappy drawings apart when I get home."

He knew it was harsh, but right now, Rukia was just serving it to him.

Her eyes widened like saucers before they narrowed into dangerous slits of mauve. Did he just threaten to rip her precious drawings apart? Oh, hell _no_. She opened her mouth and slid her tongue across his palm so she could speak. Ichigo lightly shivered, his fingers reflexively slackened before they tightened themselves in her hair. If she thought that move would gross him out and take his hand off her she was mistaken-

_Rukia-chan…_

She stood rigid, her tongue hovered in her mouth as she heard his voice. _No, no, no, no, no_, she cried to herself. He can't be here, he _shouldn't_ be here. Please don't tell me he's here…

_Aw, that's not very nice to ignore little old me…_

Everything around her no longer held any structure and turned into smudges of colors. Even Ichigo and his hand vanished, melting into the air as it shifted and distorted. Green, oranges and browns of the school melted into indigo's and blues, slanting at impossible angles. The shift was quick – blindingly so – that Rukia had to shut her eyes to stop herself feeling queasy and open them to see her standing on a sideways building.

Where, how, why and when, Rukia didn't know. All that she did know was that it was a _very bad_ idea to be here – inside Ichigo's inner world. She had been here once before – for a very brief moment when she first came back to the Living World. The glass of the sideways buildings reflected the sideways sky, sinking everything into horrible shades of blue. Rukia watched as droplets of water slid from left to right across the glass from the rain. It was a curious thing, Ichigo's inner world, where everything else except the souls who inhabited it were in law with the balance of gravity.

A warm, large hand snaked its way across her mouth as the other wrapped her body tighter to their chest. The rain-soaked fabric of the white Shinigami robes pressed coolly to Rukia's back, imitating Ichigo's stance in the living world moments ago. Alarm bells crashed wildly in Rukia's mind. She can't be here – not like this – and not with Ichigo's Hollow.

"Rukia-**_chan_**," there was something wicked and serine when he said her name. Her damp hair tickled his mouth. "It's so pleasant to see you drop by so _soon._ It's an honor."

Rukia tried to wriggle away, but just like Ichigo, Shirosaki didn't let her go, in fact, he smirked and reassured her, "don't be tempted to use that little tongue of yours again. I don't think I'll be able to hold back if ya do."

The water made the back of Rukia's white blouse suck onto the front of Shirosaki's robes and whenever she tried to pull away, he would force her back with a satisfying wet noise of their fabrics. Water trickled down the furrows of muscles of Shirosaki's white chest, beading against his skin that felt hotter than it had in a very long time. Rukia was all his now – and by the time his King realized where she had gone to, it would be too late. He chuckled, low and throaty as he bent down lower to tease her jaw with his mouth.

He trailed a few butterfly kisses down her neck before biting and nipping at her jugular. _She's just too edible_. He traced his bite marks back with his indigo tongue, the indentations of his teeth marks on her skin sending pleasurable shivers up his spine, letting out an animalistic groan bubbling out of his throat.

Rukia squirmed again, absolutely seething. "You son of a bitch. Let me _go."_

She wriggled, only to earn a groan of appreciation by Shirosaki. His body vibrated with darkened power deep inside him. "Don't you like the scenery here, Rukia-chan?"

Rukia tried to pry his arms off her, but his body was locked like stone. If she knew better, Shirosaki was several times stronger in his inner world. His fingers started to roam her body greedily, pressing deeply into every part of her flesh so he could etch it in his mind. His hand brushed past her breast, wounding around and head locking her to his chest. Rukia gasped and struggled. The side-ways rain made her school shoes squeak and slip on the glass. "B-Bastard…" she gasped, as his arm tightened against her windpipe. He only chuckled beside her before giving her ear a sensual long lick.

"You smell even _better_ in the rain, Rukia-chan."

Was she going to die? She began to see spots of black in her vision. She could feel her lungs squeeze painfully to try and at least suck in some more air. Her head felt like it was going to explode. She had to _breathe_ or she was going to die! "A-are you going…to k-kill me?" she wheezed, unable to feel her legs.

His arms fell and Rukia stumbled forward onto the glass coughing and gasping in pain. She doubled over, catching her breath. "H-how am I h-here?"

But Shirosaki said nothing, he stared down with a look that was hard and cold. Obviously his time spent was considerably short – something that he was very angry about. The King was looking and no sooner he was about to enter here. Shirosaki squatted in front of Rukia lazily and grabbed her chin roughly to force her face up. Weak and winded, she made no effort to fight back. She stared up at him, anger and fear haunting her eyes. He lifted his other hand to her face and with his index finger and traced a small cut with his nail down her cheek.

Rukia winced as she saw her blood on his finger when he retracted his hand. Shirosaki smirked, his face inches away from hers. "Now you're bound to _me."_

And with that, he clicked his fingers, laughing manically at her before she fell into darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: If you're a little confused about what happen, Shirosaki 'marked' Rukia, as his that he can freely talk to whenever he wants now. Please don't question the logics - I've got no idea myself. But this way, Shirosaki can materalize from Ichigo (regardless if he wants it or not, Ichigo will notice when Shirosaki leaves) and Rukia will now be able to see him... sooooooooo yeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaah *is shot*<strong>


	9. First Fight, Second Flight

**AN: Like super-duper quick update! My hands hurt after typing this out quickly, but I guess I owe it to you guys after all the updating that I didn't do last year :/ and you guys wanted me to continue and I felt like it. So here is it~Another chapter. Apologize for the grammar/spelling mistakes and the OOCness.**

**The main song for the story is called "End Credits" by Jess Mills. Seriously. I love this song. It's really inspiring to my story. PLEASE listen to it. Download it or go on youtube and look it up :3 It makes me teary when I think of Rukia in this story and listen to this song~**

* * *

><p>"Midget! Give me that phone now!"<p>

Ichigo's voice got louder as if someone had turned the volume up on the radio. The sounds and smells came back to Rukia as her vision blurred and sharpened. The grass appeared under her feet and the blue sky above her head. She could hear the students around them and feel Ichigo's strong arms around her. Dizzy and panicked (being tossed between two worlds does that to you) all Rukia could still feel was Shirosaki. She could still hear his dark words, his heavy breathing, his hand's crawling up her skin-

"Get off me!" Rukia screamed, shoving Ichigo backwards.

She stumbled forward and gripped the railing. Between them the phone fell on the ground and bounced twice, abandoned with a large crack on its screen. Rukia turned, eyes wide. She knows she's safe – in the _real_ world, but she felt trapped. _I can feel him. He's here. I know it._

Ichigo was instantly worried. Midget had suddenly freaked out on him and pushed him back with enough power that sent him staggering. But the look in Rukia's eyes scared him the most. "Rukia! What's-"

And then he saw it. The cut on her left cheek just under her eyes. He watched in horror as it began to bleed. "Holy shit, Rukia you're bleeding."

He reached out to help her, but Rukia immediately turned her head away from him. _Okay…_Ichigo had no idea what was happening. Wait, did _he_ do this to her? Shit. "Rukia, did _I _do this to you?" He stepped closer, ignoring the hurt he felt inside when she flinched away from him.

She tried to open her mouth to say something, but she didn't. She pressed her lips in a thin tight line and looked away. She shouldn't be scared of the man in front of her, but all she saw was Shirosaki asking if she was alright. Shirosaki reaching over with pretend care and a soft voice. _Not Ichigo_. If Ichigo took in the state of her body…

"Rukia you're all soaked!" Now he was pissed _and _worried, but most of all suspicious. Before Rukia could protest, he gripped her arms and growled, "What the hell are you keeping away from me?"

"Kurosaki. You do _not_ manhandle me." Rukia replied with equal intensity, flinching as his grip tightened. So Rukia did what she always did when she was scared, she fought back. Perfectly aimed, she clocked Ichigo on his left cheek. "I told you to _let me go_," she hissed, feeling a odd prickling behind her eyes as she watched the boy in front of her, facing away as his cheek flared red from her punch. She shook herself from his grip and took a measuring step back, eyeing him in case he dared to move again. Rukia picked up her phone and fled-

A hand shot out and grabbed Rukia's upper arm as Ichigo turned to her, absolutely furious. "You think I would just give up on you, Rukia?" he growled as Rukia turned back to him. "Something's wrong!"

All she could do was scoff. By now, if he didn't figure out why she was in this state, then he didn't pay attention. Didn't he feel her enter his inner world? Interact with his Hollow? She searched his eyes to see within them, but his eyes were distant and cold.

"Baka…" Rukia dropped her gaze down. "There's nothing wrong!"

She wanted to scream that out to the world, to scream that out to Orihime. _There's nothing wrong with what you're doing!_ She wanted to scream at how unfair life was becoming to her. Was she really that horrible in her past life to deserve this _now?_ Was this her punishment for something she couldn't remember? Rukia wished she knew Bankai, wished she could talk to her Shiroyuki. But even her Zanpakutō had turned her back on her.

Ichigo was trying hard not to shake some sense in her. His eyes hid under his bangs as his face became unreadable. Rukia wanted to plead at him, tell him to stop asking questions. "Ichigo…" she croaked. She needed room away from both of him. "Let me go. Please."

What seemed like forever, Ichigo loosened his grip, but he didn't dare let his hold vanish. Rukia eased her arm out of his hand and turned to walk away. His hands instantly turned into fists. Finding his strength to talk, he shouted back to her, "I'm _never_ going to let you go, Rukia!"

She stumbled a step and whipped her head around. Ichigo stared after her, but remained where he stood. Shirosaki stepped from behind Ichigo, hands in pockets and smirked at her. _Both of us won't let you go._

_If only you chose your actions more carefully, baka._

And she fled.

~xxx~

Urahara was having a quiet nap behind the counter of his store. So the last thing he would have expected was Rukia Kuchiki, sweaty and panting as she almost ripped his front door open. He tipped his hat away from his face and back on his head.

"Ah, Kuchiki-san! This is a-"

"Urahara, I need to contact Soul Society," Rukia panted out, closing the door with a loud 'snap' as it collided with the doorframe. She briskly walked up to him, trying to catch her breath. She doubled over when she got to the counter, clutching her knees. With an air of Kuchiki formality, she flicked her wrist at him. "Well…do….what you do… to uh, open it…"

Urahara was quiet for a few moments as he studied her. Rukia caught his gaze and glared at him. Urahara gave her an understanding look before sighing tiredly and getting up, "come, follow me, Kuchiki-san."

Finding her composure, Rukia followed Urahara to the back of his shop. He flipped out his fan and stepped aside to let Rukia in. She blinked, a hand holding the strap of her heavy schoolbag as she looked around the dimly lit room. She frowned at the table and a set of already prepared tea.

Before she could speak, Urahara shut the door and offered her to take a seat with him. Rukia narrowed her eyes. She reluctantly pulled off her bag and left it in the corner of the room, taking a seat at the opposite end of the table.

"Tea, Kuchiki-san?" he offered politely. She shook her head, but Urahara poured her a cup anyway.

"I don't want tea, Urahara-san," Rukia replied as he placed the full steamy cup in front of her.

"Ah, well. It's there just in case you change your mind."

Rukia narrowed her eyes as Urahara poured himself tea. "You knew I was coming over, didn't you?"

"What?" Urahara replied in his usual horrible-cover-up-actor voice. His flicked his fan to cover his lower face, eyes glinting innocently. "Are you accusing me of already predicting the lovely Kuchiki-san to visit the sexy, yet modest little old me? What gave it away?"

"The conveniently prepared tea," Rukia deadpanned.

"Well as I always say, better safe than sorry," Urahara said. "Besides, I was going to have tea otherwise. There's nothing worse than waiting for the kettle to boil."

Rukia looked away. She didn't want to be bothered with his riddles. She just wanted to go back to Soul Society. She instantly wished to see her Nii-sama. She didn't realize how much she terribly missed her brother. Even if he wasn't the most comforting of all people, he always made her feel safe.

"How have you been feeling recently, Kuchiki-san?" Urahara asked, watching her with a glint in his eyes. Rukia didn't like the way he was studying her. It was as if he almost _knew_ her situation, yet played innocent.

So she replied automatically. "Fine."

"How is the Kurosaki-san?"

"He's fine."

Urahara took a sip of tea but didn't place it back down on the table. He kept it in his hand, "I heard that he finally wooed that Inoue girl."

"I know. She's a very lucky girl."

He chuckled, and sighed, "I expect you're not so happy about this revelation?"

Rukia fisted her hands together in her lap under the table. She gave Urahara a deadly look to which he returned with a indifferent and calm smile. "What ever you're getting at, it can stop right now. I'm in no mood to talk about that subject right now." _Or ever, in fact._

"Then I'll change the subject," Urahara replied, settling his cup down. His eyes flashed. "Tell me more about the _Hollow._"

Rukia became instantly rigid. She panicked and quickly masked it.

"Oh, please, Kuchiki-san. Don't hide from me. I know about it," Urahara brushed off easily. "Just because I'm good looking doesn't mean that I'm not smart. I am a scientist after all, I take in the liberty to study things _very_ closely."

"You're vain and stupid," Rukia hissed and she averted her gaze, embarrassed that the words slipped.

Urahara wasn't the least offended, in fact, he took note of it. "Mood swings. The Hollow has already begun manifesting inside you."

"When…" Rukia could see her hands trembling. "When did you notice?"

"Hmm?" Urahara wasn't paying attention to her. Rukia's jaw ticked. _Why is he so distracted._ As if it struck him like an after thought, he replied, "Oh! I always knew, Kuchiki-san."

"Define 'always knew'," she snapped.

"When I first met you, of course," he answered in a tone that meant that his reply wasn't that obvious. Seeing Rukia's stone-like expression, he continued, "as you're aware ever soul is born with the ability to transform into a Hollow. But those chances differ between each individual depending on the strength. If a said person has enough strength in his soul, he has a higher risk to turn into a Hollow."

"I know that," she replied. "That was what they first told us when I went to the Academy."

"Correct, but they didn't tell you everything," Urahara replied. "You see, not all Hollows are the same. Each and every Hollow is unique. It seems when you were a child, you made contact with a very powerful Hollow. It was upon that contact with the Hollow that sped up the process and strength of the 'inner Hollow' inside of you.

"You may not have remembered this piece of information, but there are some situations where the 'birth after death' can be fast forwarded after receiving the right type of…steroid to quicken it."

Rukia's palms hit the table in anger. She leaned over and shouted, "This is absolutely absurd! Do you hear yourself? 'Contact with a Hollow when I was a child'? I remember my childhood well – if not _better_ than anyone else! In no time during then had I ever met a Hollow! The first Hollow I saw was in the Academy and I killed _him_!"

Urahara shook his head. "Kaien-san wasn't the first Hollow you met."

"_Don't_," Rukia spat venomously. "_Don't speak about Kaien-dono like you know him!"_

Sighing, Urahara knew this wasn't going to get anywhere. Rukia stood up in a rush and grabbed her bag. She tore open the door and stepped through.

"Rukia."

She turned around, not fully, but enough. Her tiny hand gripped the frame in a death grip. Urahara remained seated. "We will always be here if you need anything," he offered gently.

Rukia still had her back turned to her. Her head was bowed and if Urahara knew any better (which he did), she was crying. But it wasn't his job to look after her. That idiot boy took that title. "Please keep in mind, Urahara, that I need to contact the Soul Society," Rukia whispered, unable to face him. "And I will be returning in a few short days."

"Then the Senkaimon will be ready for your return," he replied. "Stay safe, Kuchiki."

~xxx~

Rukia had a very long and cold shower when she came back home. Isshin was at work next door. Rukia hadn't seen him just yet. She was glad she still had a few hours until she faced anyone else.

She changed and threw her dirty clothes in the basket that Yuzu provided for her and Karin to share. She paused at Ichigo's door, sighed and opened it.

The room was clean, like he always kept it. She stepped inside and looked around. She had so many memories in here, with him. She remembered when a Hollow first crashed into his window, sending Ichigo flying. She chuckled. Or the time that all the Captains managed to cram themselves in here and he flipped out. And the time when Rangiku tried to stay at his house and offered to pull her skirt up.

Rukia smiled. _Ah, those were the times._

Her fingers brushed against the wood of his desk. She sat on the edge of the bed and placed the laundry basket beside her. She heard the top door of his desk rattle. It was probably where he locked Kon during the day. Rukia remained quite. The last thing she wanted to was hyperactive, perverted toy all over her case.

Her eyes fell on two frames sitting on his desk beside his books. One was of his deceased mother, Masaki. She was such a beautiful woman. She must have been proud of who his son became to be. _I'm proud too, Masaki. Thank you for giving me the time to spend with him._ The second frame was recently taken – a few months ago in fact after Rukia came back.

They had all gone to the beach – in celebration of welcoming Rukia back. The lunch was fantastic; Yuzu had made so much food for them to eat. All the girls had played around the sand and water and Isshin had come up and they all built a large sandcastle. Rukia had never seen a sandcastle that big before in her life. It had a mote and a drawbridge and everything and every time the waves rolled it, water filled the mote around the castle. They even managed to cover Ichigo neck to toe in sand. Yuzu found the humorous way to turn him into a mermaid. When they were all done, sand smudged on faces and arms, they all lay beside him, lifted the camera and smiled to the lens.

Rukia picked up the frame and traced the familiar faces. Isshin was pulling a funny face, Karin was half-way through hysterics, Yuzu was smiling toothily as she took the photo. Her eyes fell on the last two.

He was grinning from ear to ear, half-way through the middle of laughter. Rukia had never seen him smile that way before, but it was beautiful. Her photo-self was smiling back up at her, eyes twinkling and hair matted with sand and sea water. They were lying close too – their heads touching.

Rukia placed the frame back on the table and stood up, grabbing Ichigo's diry laundry and hurrying down stairs. "He has a girlfriend for god's sake, Rukia," she said to herself as she went into their small laundry. But her heart was hammering. She put the laundry in the machine and collapsed. "He has a girlfriend," she whispered, her voice hitching as the familiar prickling began behind her eyes. "It's perfectly normal for him to fall in love with her. She's perfect for him…he's perfect for her… He's a healthy boy, he can do what he wants…"

But the tears began to fell regardless how much she talked. She leaned against the washing machine that hummed and vibrated against her small frame.

"It hurts," she confessed quietly to herself.

She missed him.

So much it was painful.

But he was _happy._

"Oh _god_ it hurts." Her head fell into her hands as she sobbed. She cried feely to herself. She blamed herself for this mess. An idiot to still be in love with someone when they didn't love you back.

She cried until no more tears came out and the pain inside of her took over. She grimaced and cowered on the tiles, clutching her chest as her insides squirmed and whispers filled her ears. No sooner, it left, leaving her defeated and broken on the floor. _When will it talk to me?_

Will Shiroyuki ever talk to her again?

She stayed on the cold floor for a while before she finally moved. She picked herself up. She can't just wallow in self-pity for the rest of her life. As difficult as it was to stand and how tempted she was to just leave her life for that tiled floor, she managed to get herself to the kitchen. She glanced at the clock. _They will be home soon._

She washed her face and tidied herself. She carried a chair to the counter and stood up on it so she could reach the medicine cabinet. Pulling out a couple of painkillers she grabbed a glass of water and took it with the pills. She cleared up her mess and returned the chair to the table.

Her eyes were puffy and red and she was tired too. She wanted to go to bed, to curl up in the sheets and never get up again. Feet shuffling heavily, she made her way to the roof. She laid down on the tiled roof, upside down so her knees hooked over the roof top and her head was falling backwards. The blood rushed to her face and the sound of her heart thickened in her ears. But she didn't really give a shit.

A few minutes later, the sound of the front door broke Rukia's peace. She sighed as she heard the siblings talking to each other inside. _They're here._

He's here.

Rukia covered her face and groaned. Her eyes prickled again. _No. No more tears._

A few more minutes passed as she listened to what sounded like doors being opened inside the house. She heard the sound of Ichigo's door being undone. Then the sound of a cupboard door being shoved open. He was looking for her. She prayed that he didn't check the roof and instantly lowered her reitsu.

It was quiet for a few moments. If she was quiet enough…

Then she felt his reitsu as he exploded into his Shinigami form inside his room. Without thinking, she grabbed Chappy and popped the pill in her mouth.

Her soul triggered out into a gracious backwards somersault as she landed carefully on thin air. Her Shinigami robes flickered in the breeze, heavy against her skin. Shiroyuki hummed gently beside her, adjusted on her hip. Rukia turned to face the sunset.

"Alright. You better tell me right now what the hell is going on!" Ichigo growled, blocking the sunset with his body. He crossed his arms against his chest.

They remained a few feet away from each other suspended in mid air. The only thing that passed through them was the wind. Rukia frowned, but Ichigo's face softened.

"Rukia…please," he asked, taking a step forward.

He triggered her mask. He cursed himself. Now he was absolutely certain that she was hiding something from him. He dropped his arm to his side. His voice turned cold again, "why are you acting so weird, Rukia?"

"I'm not acting weird," she replied defensively.

"You are," he accused angrily. "You've been acting strangely for a while now!"

"How so?" she reprimanded coldly, she crossed her arms just as he uncrossed his.

"You've been distant, Rukia. Every time I try to talk to you, it's like I'm talking to a brick wall! All you do is either bite my head off or get defensive!" he growled, throwing his hands in the air. "I don't know whether this has to do with me going out with Orihime or something else. But I'm _sick_ of it!"

"This hasn't got anything to do with you and Orihime going out, baka!" shouted Rukia, instantly blinded with rage. Ichigo didn't flinch, he only scowled more as if he didn't believe her. She took a step on air closer to him. "Don't you _dare_ start judging me, you bastard! You think I've been distant? What about you? I can't even _talk_ to you anymore without Orihime at your beck and call! You never talk to _me_, remember?"

"If you had such a problem with it, then you could've told me!" Ichigo shouted just as angrily back.

"How could I? You and Orihime are joined at the hip now! Since when was I able to get a word in? You're head was always shoved so far up her ass, Kurosaki!"

"_Don't_ talk about her like that!" he snarled, leaning forward as if to fight her. But he didn't dare. But Rukia was hurt by the way he said it. "For fuck sake, Rukia. If this is about Orihime, just fucking _say it_!"

"You idiot! I told you this has nothing to fucking do with her!" Rukia screamed back.

"Obviously it does since you're acting like a complete _bitch_ about it!" He took another step forward, but Rukia retreated one back. "You're so fucking horrible right now, I don't know why I bother to keep you in this house! Do you want to go back to Soul Society, huh? BECAUSE I DON'T FUCKING CARE!"

Before he knew it, the tip of Shiroyuki pressed tightly against his neck. Ichigo froze and looked down to see Rukia's shaking frame. He scowl deepened, but his voice was considerably softer, "are you fucking _serious_? What the hell has gotten into you, Rukia?"

Her eyes were sharp and dark. "I'm warning you right now to shut up, you inconsiderate ass," Rukia replied thickly. "I will only say it once. You can believe all you want that this about you and your relationship. But if maybe once in your life you _ever_ considered me something…" her voice broke. _I can't say it._ "I'm older than you, Ichigo. _Never_ will I hesitate to put you and your Hollow back in place. If you continue this, I _will_ go back to Soul Society."

She withdrew her Zanpakutō and Ichigo replied, "I'm _concerned_ about you, Rukia."

"Don't say it," she whispered, sheathing Shiroyuki.

"I'm fucking freaking out here," he continued. "Less than twenty-four hours ago everything was fine between us. _What the hell happened, midget?_"

She looked away and Ichigo instantly wanted to wrap his arms around her, regardless or not she was going to cut his arms off. He didn't fucking care. He hated seeing her like this. This wasn't the midget he knew.

"_Don't_,"Rukia warned thickly. "Don't touch me, Ichigo."

It pained him to hear those words. "Please, Rukia…"

"You don't get it do you?" Rukia said, when she looked up at him. "You cannot comfort me anymore when you have another woman in your arms. You can't talk to me, knowing that you said the same words to another. You can't soothe my pain when all your care went to another."

Ichigo's face twisted in hurt. He hid his eyes beneath his bangs. "God, Rukia. You're making this too hard for yourself."

_I'm not going to stop fighting for you._

Rukia looked away. "Whatever you wanted to speak to me about. It ends now. This conversation never happened, you hear?"

_I'll always come after you no matter how many times you try to hide it away from me._

Ichigo lifted his gaze, his eyes like pools of liquid sun. There was no scowl on his face. He just wanted Rukia back. "I'll always be here for you, Rukia. Always. You know that right?"

_I'll never let you go!_

"Rukia," Ichigo was worried when she didn't reply. He reached over to grab her, but she shun-poed away. "Rukia!"

Ichigo stood overlooking his house that almost seemed like hours. His head was spinning uncontrollably. Shirosaki was sniggering inside his mind. _Shut the fuck up!_ Ichigo snarled. He slowly reached out for Zangetsu. The wrappings unraveled to reveal the cold steel of his Zanpakutō. The setting sun gleamed against its polished, scratched surface. His hand tightened hard on the hilt.

"RUKIA!" Ichigo screamed in anger and swung Zangetsu. A large wave of black reitsu ripped across the air, rocketing towards sun. It roared above the buildings and parted the clouds as it vanished, finally, into the twilight.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So many emotions in this one TAT ... there! they had their first fight! Did anyone realise that Rukia was lying that Orihime wasn't the problem? Fufufu, Rukia is completely torn that Ichigo and Orihime are together. But good ol' Urahara! He ALWAYS knows whats happening around him. It's nice to know that he offered to look after her.<strong>

**And yes, Rukia did hear that Ichigo will always be there for her, but she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if Ichigo ignored Orihime.**

**It's painful to see someone you truly love, loving someone else. Find the strength Rukia to fight for Ichigo! XD**


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